K ARUMUGAM

Winger Usman Khan, 76, died on 4^th of June at his hometown Madanapally in Andhra Pradesh. His hockey career is unique in many ways, despite not being an Olympian or an Asian Games player.

First things first. He was born in Madanapally in Cuddapah district of undivided Andhra Pradesh. There are two interesting facts here. Firstly, he was the first international hockey player the state has produced. Secondly, he never represented his domicile state in domestic hockey.

Madras Hockey Club was a big organization in those days. Many hockey clubs in nearby provinces like Karnataka and Andra Pradesh took pride and privilege in getting registered with it. Besides, the metropolis Madras (now Chennai) was and still is, is a centre for education. Aspiring students from neighbouring provinces opted to study there instead of moving to distant capitals of their states.

Understandably,  Usman chose to study at Madras University and represent it at Inter-University hockey competitions too.

Secondly, unlike most of his colleagues at Madras University or Tamil Nadu State, Usman did not confine himself to State or University. He moved out. He joined Aligarh Muslim University, which until this day is a force to reckon with in terms of producing hockey players and possessing a top-rate hockey team.

So, Usman represented two universities at hockey, first Madras and then Aligarh. Perhaps the first generation of professional hockey players!

After completing his studies at Aligarh, he did not move to Andhra Pradesh (domicile state) or Chennai (a hockey unit) but chose  Kolkata where he secured a job. He settled there, represented Bengal at the Nationals (1971 and 1972) and shone for Mohun Bagan in the prestigious Calcutta Hockey League. Among his teammates in both 1971 and 1972 Nationals and the Calcutta Hockey League was none other than Ashok Kumar, son of Dhyan Chand.

Thus, Usman  had amalgamated himself into the Bengal hockey milieu. Kolkata has always been a melting point for players of many states in Kolkata but to have a player from Tamil Nadu, usually brutally ‘loyal’ to his state, is a stand-alone exception.

He represented India on the 1967 Europe tour, Madrid Cup and Sri Lanka Series. All as a ‘Bengal’ player.

Thus, Usman’s career fact file reveals an Andhra Pradesh-born Tamil Nadu player who also plied his trade in Calcutta. Truly a player evoking an integrated Indian hockey culture.