Pakistan

WASIM AHMED BECOMES SECOND MOST-CAPPED PAKSTANI INTERNATIONAL

By : Syed Akber Ali Wahidi

Wasim Ahmed becomes Pakistan’s second most-capped player when he earned his 253rd cap during Pakstan’s 3-1 win over under-strength Germany in the 26th Champions Trophy at Lahore on Saturday.

Pakistani most-capped midfielder Wasim became the 34th National hockey Captain of Pakistan when Pakistan clashed with India in the opener of 9th Indo-Pak Series (Friday 24 September) at Karachi”s HCP.

Pakistani’s most-capped midfielder Wasim Ahmed is the 17th captain to lead Pakistan in Champions Trophy. Apart from Shahbaz Ahmed, who captained Pakistan six times (1990-95) in CTs, only three players have captained Pakistan on two occasions. These are Hanif Khan (1983, 1985), Mansoor Ahmed (1996, 97) and Muhammad Sarwar (2001-02). Islahuddin Siddiqui, Munawwaruz Zaman, Akhtar Rasool, Samiullah Khan, Manzoor Hussain Jr, Hassan Sardar, Rashidul Hassan, Nasir Ali, Qazi Mohib, Muhammad Usman, Atif Bashir and Muhammad Nadeem ND did the captaincy once.

The diminutive left-half Wasim is second in the list of most-capped Pakistani after Shahbaz Ahmed Sr (304 caps). Third-placed Tahir Zaman earned 252 caps from career span 1987-1998. Other Pakistanis with 200 - plus caps in international hockey circuit are Mansoor Ahmed, Muhammad Usman, Muhammad Nadeem and Sohail Abbas.

Wasim is seventh midfielder to lead Pakistan. Hamidullah Burki was the first one when he led Pakistan in 1950 World Championship at Barcelona. Burki was followed by midfielders Ghulam Rasool, Anwar Ahmed Khan, Akhtar Rasool, Rashidul Hassan and Muhammad Usman.

Wasim replaced former skipper Mohammad Nadeem alias ND, who quit international hockey after the Pakistan team finished fifth at the 28th Olympic Games last August.

The little fellow, with a perpetual grin on his face, is one of the few universally acclaimed stars of current Pakistan hockey. The position of left-half is generally regarded as a defensive one in Asian style hockey but, like Fazalur Rahman (1965-72) and Naeem Akhtar (1982-88), Wasim proved this concept wrong. He is not only a dynamo in defence but also in attack . He displays an extremely high work-rate..
Born at Vihari, a district of Punjab Province, on 10 April 1977, Wasim made international debut during 16th Champions Trophy 1996 at Chennai (formerly Madras), India. He possesses excellent tackle and positioning sense in defence. Similarly, he has fine ball-control to move up front creating gaps in the opponents' defence and supplying superb passes to the strikers.

Wasim played his 200th international hockey match on 24 September 2003 when Pakistan inflicted 4-2 win over India in the Group-B encounter of 6th Asia Cup Hockey Championship at National Hockey Stadium of Bukit Jalil Sports Complex at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Wasim also struck a precious goal in his 200th international when he converted Pakistan’s first penalty-corner by beating Indian keeper Devesh Chauhan all ends up. This goal arrived when the match was beautifully balanced at 2-2.

Wasim become the most-capped midfielder of Pakistan’s hockey history by edging out 210-cap record of Muhammad Usman. Former national skipper Usman played as right-half from 1994 to 2002.
Wasim won silvers in Champions Trophy at Chennai1996 and Lahore 1998 besides bronzes in 2002 and 2003 editions. He also appeared in CTs of 1997,1999 and 2001. Wasim also represented Pakistan in Olympics 2000, 2004, World Cup 1998, 2002 and Junior World Cup 1997. He also won silver in 5th and 6th Asia Cup at Kuala Lumpur 1999 and 2003 respectively, and bronze in 13th Asian Games at Bangkok 1998.

Alongwith Sohail Abbas, Wasim was the only Pakistani to be included in the World XI which played against the Netherlands in Alexandria on 27 October 1999, as part of the FIH's 75th Anniversary Celebrations. Wasim used to play for current national champion of Pakistan WAPDA and he was vice-captain of Pakistan that won the third Junior Asia Cup at Singapore 1996. Wasim also won gold in FIH World Youth U18 Festival at Rawalpindi / Wah 1995-96. Wasim, also known as Muhammad Wasim in media, struck five goals in 253 international outings.

MOST CAPPED PAKISTANI HOCKEY INTERNATIONALS

GOAL KEEPERS
Mansoor Ahmed 1986-97 238 -
Ahmed Alam 1991-2004 161 -
Shahid Ali Khan 1981-93 135 -
Syed G. Moinuddin 1980-86 100 -
FULL BACKS
Sohail Abbas 1998-2004 219 269
Rana Mujahid 1987-96 158 14
Manzoorul Hassan 1973-82 154 101
Nasir Ali 1981-88 150 19
Khalid Bashir 1987-93 143 66
Ali Raza 1996-2004 140 14
Tariq Imran 1996-2003 137 -
Qasim Zia 1981-87 125 15
Qazi Mohib 1986-90 123 41
Munawwaruz Zaman 1971-80 119 44
Danish Kalim 1994-99 117 18
MIDFIELDERS
Wasim Ahmed 1996-2004 253 5
Muhammad Usman 1994-2002 210 7
Rashidul Hassan 1979-87 199 9
Khawaja Junaid 1987-95 171 6
Akhtar Rasool 1971-82 146 22
Muhammad Saqlain 1999-2004 141 10
Ishtiaq Ahmed 1981-88 134 9
Naeem Akhtar 1982-88 113 2
Saeed Anwar 1964-72 112 10
Ayaz Mahmood 1982-87 110 8
Irfan Mahmood 1992-98 106 -
STRIKERS
Shahbaz Ahmed 1986-2002 304 98
Tahir Zaman 1987-98 252 134
Nadeem Ahmed 1994-2004 204 52
Wasim Feroz 1984-94 197 55
Muhammad Sarwar 1995-2004 196 44
Kashif Jawwad 1999-2004 178 92
Hanif Khan 1976-85 177 127
Kalimullah Khan 1979-86 176 97
Manzoor Hussain 1975-84 175 86
Muhammad Shahbaz 1991-99 168 89
Kamran Ashraf 1993-2002 166 129
Samiullah Khan 1971-82 155 55
Hassan Sardar 1979-87 148 150
Mudassar Ali Khan 1999-2004 136 21
Khalid Mahmood 1963-73 130 19
Farhat Khan 1985-93 129 26
Asad Malik 1961-72 121 41
Atif Bashir 1995-2002 118 59
Shabbir Hussain 2000-2004 117 18
Rahim Khan 1993-98 107 22
Qamar Ibrahim 1987-93 100 34

Rate This Article

Select Here  5 Stars  (Best Rating)   4 Stars   3 Stars   2 Stars   1 Star  (Worst Rating)

Your opinion counts.
Rate this article or enter your comments below.