For a man who has lived in the era of Munich, Montreal, Moscow Olympics, or WC of 1975 at Kualalampur, and Sultan Azlan Shah win, I would rate him as the greatest ever sports person India has ever produced.
Re: RIP
by Amod Karnik on Jul 31, 2016 09:47 PM
Stop faking. Mohammad Shahid never played in the era of Munich, Montreal and the Kuala Lumpur WC of 1975. He played in Moscow as a newcomer and later graced India in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic games.
For a man who has lived in the era of Munich, Montreal, Moscow Olympics, or WC of 1975 at Kualalampur, and Sultan Azlan Shah win, I would rate him as the greatest ever sports person India has ever produced.
Yes he was a true legend.I was a lover of cricket during my childhood days and had no exposure to hockey till TV came.Me watching the 1982 world cup at Mumbai was the trigger.After seeing this legend in the 1986 Asian Games at Seoul and the way he dodged the Korean defence inside the D through his artistry and skills was a treat to watch.I am yet to see someone as gifted as Mohammad Shahid.If anyone came close to him in this skill(not exactly)it was Dhanaraj Pillai.I pray almighty to bestow another Mohammad Shahid to Indian hockey ,not once but every now and then
But India was a very mediocre team in those days. We were just not in the same league as Australia, Netherlands, Germany and Pakistan in the 80s, the era in which Shahid played.
Also, the author's contention that today it is less about skill and more about sheer power is wrong. If you look at the Australian style of hockey, it is about tremendous skill. no Indian hockey team in any era can even get close to the skill level and fitness level of the Australian team. No Indian hockey team can come even remotely close to the power and precision of the Dutch style of hockey. Suffice to say, we have lived off on past glory and are a relic of a bygone era.
Re: Shahid was a very good player
by bhaskar on Jul 30, 2016 04:23 PM
Indian were mediocre because speed took over the artistry. Our team could not compete on the highest platform due to lack of exposure of junior talent to the synthetic pitch. Morever , Indian hockey lost its grace to cricket ..
