SPORTS WORLD: The passing away of Feroze Khan, oldest hockey Olympian

Hockey circles grieved over the passing away of the oldest Olympian, Feroze Khan, peacefully in his sleep at the age of 101 on April 20, 2005. Seventy-seven years ago young, energetic and enthusiastic Feroze had given a heart-warming performance at the Amsterdam Olympiad to help undivided India win its first hockey gold by brushing aside the challenge of Holland in the final. In the group encounters Feroze, then 24, had set the tone of pulsating matches with exquisite technical excellence.
In the cornucopia of pre-Olympic matches in Holland and Belgium and other international duels he had underlined the subcontinental style and system which stressed harmony and co-ordination by the whole forward-line, instead of the Dhyan Chand's theory of single-handed stick sorcery. The 1928 team to the Amsterdam Games had such stalwarts as Dhyan Chand, Penniger, Cullen, Shaukat, Jaipal Singh and Yusuf Jan, yet the spectators were enthralled by the patterns fabricated by Feroze with accelerated speed.
Born in Hoshiarpur of Jullundur district in the winter of 1904, Feroze Khan did not get any opportunity to play competitive hockey till he reached DAV College of the area. But even his baptism in a university tournament at Kapurthala was a half match for the team pulled out of the game on a disputed goal. Later on joining the Forman Christian College, Lahore, in 1921 he exhibited his wares as a right winger.
With intensive drills and dedicated practice and regular watching of two good lineups viz North-Western Railways and Punjab Rifles, Feroze improved a lot his modes and methods and usually lent the dash and elan to the attacking line. The college side beat the visiting Khalsa College, Amritsar, by a tennis score of 6-0. Feroze moving with assurance at his favourite position of spearhead pumped in three fine goals.
He stayed for three years in the F.C. College and earned the plaudits of the Lahore Press as a player with verve and power. The speedy centre forward was invited to assist such well-known clubs as LYA, Lucknow, for Calcutta's Beighton Cup, Pindi's Boota Singh XI, Ambala Muslims and Bhuttur Club of Ferozepur. The college formation had the better of Government College side in the Patiala Gold Cup, with Feroze time and again creating openings. Later under his captaincy F.C. carried away the university trophy.
Feroze joined the Aligarh Muslim University in 1926 to take the law degree. This was the period when he was usually the sheet-anchor of the squad, scintillating in the forward-line as a spearhead. Aligarh won several tournaments. They had some prominent players in their pack in Manzoor (right out), Wasi Abbasi (inside right), Iqbal (left out), Alauddin (right half) and Tiwana brothers.
It was in the Lucknow Ramlal Cup that the team was joined by the great Asad Ali, reputedly the finest left-in of his time. Feroze formed an excellent duo with him eluding the tackles of the middlers and the defenders. They helped lift the Ramlal Cup, latterly tournaments in Bareilly the Sultan Cup, and in Delhi the Trades Cup.
Came 1928 when for the Amsterdam Olympics India had entered a team for its debut in the hockey tournament. In the trials for the Punjab eleven he was the first choice. The inter-provincial took place in Calcutta where Punjab locked horns in the initial encounter against U.P., having Dhyan Chand as centre forward, who delighted the crowds with his wristy efforts. Punjab were in arrears by 3-0 at the lemon time. With defeat in the first match Feroze had no chance to be selected for the representative formation. Feroze displayed flashy moves to unsettle the rival defences and netted thrice to even the scores to the thrill of the understanding Calcutta crowds.
The trials for the main British India outfit were set between the Probables and Possibles, led by none other than Feroze Khan. He played as a centre forward and shot in three clear goals. The selectors, who wanted Dhyan Chand to be placed at the slot, were worried. They asked Feroze to leave the position and himself try to demonstrate his dexterity at inside right. Feroze agreed to this arrangement.
On return he was fortunate enough to get a job and was booked by the Bombay Customs. In his very first match against the Lusitanians, quite a balanced outfit, Feroze, helped quicken the pace of the Customs, beat the rival side, the centre forward himself sending the ball to the cage thrice. He became a 'hit' in Bombay and was treated as a hero by the hockey fans. With Sweeny, Milne, Feroze, Tony Pinto forming a pacy front-line Bombay Customs were unstoppable. For two years running they clinched the famous Aga Khan Gold Club (1931-32), bringing down even the powerful combination of their sister team, Calcutta Customs, having the services of Shaukat Ali, Minto and Mohsin.
Feroze was left out of the Los Angeles Olympics lineup in 1932 through politics and conspiracies of the selectors. Yet he toured New Zealand with a visiting conglomerate of Manavadar. There his skill and scoring ability earned the appreciation of the New Zealanders as also the Australians.
Feroze's brilliant hockey career spanned two decades. He had to give up the game in 1942 due to pulled muscles in matches. Still he tried to keep himself fit and took up tennis at the age of 50 which he continued for over 20 years. A teetotaller, he abstained from smoking as well.
On migration to Pakistan he served for three years as a Vice-President of the Karachi Hockey Association. He ran the Pakistan Customs squad and showed his organisational capacities by staging the Quaid-i-Azam Gold Cup as the tournament secretary. The spectators were usually in a mood of cheer witnessing not only top outfits of the country but some famed Indian lineups like the Delhi Independents, Khalsa Blues and Afghan Club, Jullundur. Regretfully the Pakistan Hockey Federation could not run such a high class competition later.
Feroze served as the national selector from 1956 to 1965 - for full nine years. During his selectorial tenure the country's team was in the building-up process. However, while it missed the gold by the proverbial whisker at Melbourne, it struck the purple patch in Rome by getting the coveted honour and replaced India from the highest slot.
The country also earned gold in the Asian Games in 1958 (Tokyo) and 1962 (Jakarta). Feroze had no choice but to leave the selection panel when the manager started shuffling the combination and the team had lack of leadership on the field in the Tokyo Olympics. India regained the hockey gold in 1964 at the expense of Pakistan.
In many interviews he had regretted the declining standard of the game in both Pakistan and India and the rise of the European nations and the Australians. In his opinion the changing of rules and the introduction of the nylon surface had harmed the game.
"Back to the exemplary Asian style" was his advice to the modern-day players, coaches and organisers.
"Stress should be on perfect combination and pacy movements", Feroze had said in a fatherly tone.