Renowned hockey player of yore Shahid Noor, 59, died of kidney failure on Thursday, the 23rd February at his home town Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, India.
The fleet-footed left winger played for famous Mohan Bagan Club, Calcutta, before joining the first Indian Airlines hockey team in the late 60s.
The plain speaking gentleman represented India at the Barcelona World Cup in 1971, where India won the bronze. He also figured in many other international tournaments.
Noor was so popular and talented in his times that hockey legend Dhyan Chand condemned his exclusion from the 1968 Mexico Olympics.
Dhyan Chand’s illustrious son Ashok Kumar, who played along side Noor in both Mohan Bagan and Indian Airlines considers him the best left winger that he had seen in his career. “I was lucky to witness and then play with such a great player and a nice human being”. He further added, “It’s because of players like Shahid Noor Indian Airlines team won almost all the competitions in those times”.
Ashok Kumar fondly remembers how Noor was afraid of making flight journeys and then, personally speaking, how much affectionate he was towards his wife. “He used to dictate me many letters he sent to his wife in our Patiala camp days”.
Jalalludin Rizvi, another winger from the famous Bhopal stable, hails Noor as an effective forward who can easily outwit defenders with ease and élan. “You will never have another Noor. That much is for sure”, Rizvi added.
After playing for Mohan Bagan club, Noor joined Indian Airlines and then BHEL in Bhopal. He took volunteer retirement from BHEL five years ago.
He was suffering from Kidney ailments, and was routinely on dialysis before he breathed his last on Thursday.
Noor is survived by his wife, three daughters and four sons.