My conscience is clear and my track record speaks for itself: says Former hockey captain and coach Islahuddin Siddiqui
Islahuddin Siddiqui said that he is very disappointed at the baseless and uncalled for a statement made by his former colleague Hanif Khan who alleged that he (Islah) is trying to sneak into the Pakistan Hockey Federation from the back door and has not achieved much as an official in his career.
Islahuddin Siddiqui- the hockey icon who led Pakistan to three titles in 1978 , has lived an eventful and colourful life for more than five decades now.
Former hockey captain and coach Islahuddin Siddiqui said that he is very disappointed at the baseless and uncalled for a statement made by his former colleague Hanif Khan who alleged that he (Islah) is trying to sneak into the Pakistan Hockey Federation from the back door and has not achieved much as an official in his career.
Islahuddin played the best hockey for Pakistan from 1967 to1979 and he was capped 130 times and scored 137 goals. And he is the only one to have achieved a grand slam in hockey for Pakistan in 1978 with World Cup, Asian Games and Champions Trophy titles in the same year. Gold medals also came in Azlan Shah in KL in the year 2000 while the same year, Pakistan beat India in nine-match home and away series and clean-swept New Zealand 5-0 on their soil.
Replying to Hanif’s statement Islah said:
“I feel sorry for him who has been my junior colleague and a friend for over three decades now but he is obviously playing in the hands of some dirty lobby which does not want to see Pakistan hockey thriving.”
Islah said his conscience is clear and he never pursued any post in the PHF or elsewhere.
“My conscience is clear because I have been a well-wisher of Pakistan hockey and have always served the nation whenever the PHF has invited me to work in some capacity or the other.
“As for my track record as a player, captain and official, it is for everyone to see and can be verified from the record books and on the internet,” said Islah who remains the most successful hockey captain of the country, losing only two matches out of the 45 he led the national team in around the world.”
“As far as my record as an official is concerned – as a manager, coach and selector – I achieved a lot but never want to boast about it. But for my distractors, I want to categorically state that as manager cum head coach in 1989 and 1990, I am proud to have been part of the team that won the gold medals in the Indira Gandhi Cup, in the BMW tournament in Amsterdam and in the Beijing Asian Games,” said Islah.
In my last assignment as a hockey official in 2007, I am thankful to Allah that Pakistan earned a gold medal in the four-nation tournament in Russia. “Then in my tenure as manager and coach, Pakistan won silver medals in Berlin and Karachi editions of Champions Trophy back to back in 1991 and ’92.”
Islah added that he has remained a member of the prestigious FIH rules board for 17 years and in his tenure as a selector, Pakistan bagged silver medals in Asiad in Korea and in Champions Trophy in India in 2014.
“There are countless other tournaments that I can mention where I succeeded as manager and as a coach but the main thing is that I don't hold any grudge against anyone and don’t want to be part of the mud-slinging campaign that has unfortunately started by some quarters,” concluded Islah.
