Born on 2nd Nov.1970, Lucknow’s Shakeel Ahmad was among the unending series of talented hockey players to come out of Uttar Pradesh in the 80s. The youngster attracted selectors’ attention during the Srinagar Junior Nationals in 1986 & 1987. As a trainee at the Lucknow Sports Hostel, he shone at in the Lucknow Nationals, made his debut with the India A team on a friendly series to Moscow, and played for the junior India side at the Karachi Junior Asia Cup. In 1989, he was included in the side for Delhi Asian Zone Junior World Cup Qualifiers and made the senior grade the same year at the BMW Trophy. Luck was on his side as the experienced Sujit Kumar announced his sudden retirement at around the same time and Shakeel smoothly stepped into his slot. In 1990, he was part of the Indira Gandhi Cup-winning side in his hometown, scoring four goals, and the Beijing Asian Games. Another gold at the Azlan Shah Cup and four goals at the Auckland Olympic Qualifiers and a 3-Nation Europe tour were accomplished in 1991 before he played the 1992 Indira Cup and was part of the European tour the same year, making him one of the most experienced players at the Barcelona Olympics. However, post Olympics he was out of the scheme of things but winning the best midfielder title at the popular Nehru Cup in 1992 forced the selectors to recall him. He returned in style, being named captain for the South African tour and the Alps Cup in 1993, winning both. In fact, in his first five years with the national team, Shakeel did not miss a single stroke, except once in Azlan Shah. He also led India to silver at the Hiroshima Asia Cup before giving up captaincy to Jude Felix for the Hiroshima Asian Games and Sydney World Cup. Him missing a few strokes at Sydney would remain a sore in his otherwise successful career. He was in the team for the 1995 Champions Trophy in Berlin and figuring SAF games before retiring from active play. He played for the Indian Airlines, posted at Lucknow.