Hamidi led Pakistan to its maiden gold medal in Rome Olympics in 1960
PESHAWAR: Legendary hockey Olympian Brigadier (retired) Abdul Hamid Hamidi, who led Pakistan to its maiden gold medal in the Rome Olympics in 1960, passed away on Thursday. He was 92.
Hamidi, who was living with his family in Chaklala, was rushed to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Rawalpindi two days before his death.
He was laid to rest in his ancestral graveyard in Bannu, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on Friday. A large number of people from all walks of life attended the funeral prayers held in Millat Park.
The deceased is survived by a widow and two sons – Nadeem Hameed and Faheem Hameed. He was also the elder brother of another legendary hockey Olympian Abdul Rashid Junior.
Hamidi was the only Olympian who represented Pakistan in four Olympics – London 1948, Helsinki 1952, Melbourne 1956, and Rome 1960.
Born on January 7, 1927 Hamidi played as inside right and rose to fame when he skippered the national hockey team to a solitary goal win over arch-rival India, the top and the most dominant team of its time.
Later in his career, Hamidi served on many key positions including as Pakistan Sports Board director general, Army Sports Control Board director general, National Sports Trust (NST) DG. He also served as secretary of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) for some time after retiring from the military.
COMMENTS (1)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ