Akhtar Rasool (born 13 January 1954) () is a politician and former

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

player, national hockey team captain and Olympian from

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

who won the gold medal with the men's national hockey team at the Hockey World Cup 1978, and again in 1982. He played as center half for the national team. Akhtar is considered one of the creative geniuses in centre-half recovery and ball distribution.

Background and education

Akhtar Rasool was born in

Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

District of

, formerly known as

Lyallpur Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

. His father was

Chaudhry Ghulam Rasool Chaudhry Ghulam Rasul (1 May 1931 – 24 December 1991) was a Pakistani educationist as well as a field hockey Olympic player. He was originally from Faisalabad District but later settled in Lahore. Rasool was an integral part of the Pakis ...

and was himself a world-renowned hockey Olympian beside being an eminent

educationist Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...

. Akhtar graduated from

Government College Lahore The Government College University (colloquially known as GCU; Punjabi, Urdu: ) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded as Government College, Lahore, in 1864 under British administration, it became a university ...

. During his college days, Akhtar remained the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the College Hockey team. He was awarded "Roll of Honor" and "College Color" for his excellent performance in hockey.

Career

Akhtar was noted for his clean playing style and performance and as such was first included in the Pakistani national hockey team in 1971. He was a player of relaxed approach but extreme courage, control and poise were

hallmark A hallmark is an official Mark (sign), mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''Wikti ...

s of his excellence in a highly demanding position at centre-half. From 1971 till 1982, Akhtar played numerous national and international matches, displaying his superior skills in hockey. He had an exceptional technique and a knack of passing the ball to the right player at the right time. In the latter part of his hockey career, Akhtar made a great mark for himself. He played a crucial role in Pakistan's victories in 1978 and 1982 Hockey World Cup. In 1982, Akhtar captained the Pakistani team for the Hockey World Cup

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

held in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

and won a gold medal for Pakistan by defeating W. Germany in the finals. After Bombay Hockey World Cup, Akhtar retired in a blaze of glory as skipper of the side which had won the gold in 1982. By then, he had the singular distinction of being the only player to have played in four World Cups. Akhtar also played in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

held at

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

held at

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and won Silver and

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

Medals in 1972 and 1976, respectively. He was a good pivot and played important role in Pakistani victories in 1978 and 1982 Hockey World Cups. He was also awarded highest civil award

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance (), officially known as the Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sp ...

by the Pakistani Government in 1983. After his retirement from professional hockey, he was elected as the President of Pakistan's hockey supreme body the PHF. This was to be only for a term of one year. He took over at a time when the PHF was bankrupt and had just gotten out of the 1996 players revolt just before the world cup. He worked diligently and his hard work paid off and he was elected for another term as the President. He was supposed to continue till the year 2002. He then served as the chairman of the selection committee in the year 2002, and at that time too, his focus was the development of Pakistani hockey. He ensured that the players were helped in each possible way to maintain their consistency. He is still an active member of Pakistani hockey. He is either coaching or training young lads in Pakistan with the same motto and that is promotion of Pakistan hockey. Akhtar Rasool was elected unopposed as the president of the Pakistan Hockey Federation in 2013 but could not perform as well as expected this time. "Pakistan had secured eighth position in the qualifying event for the Olympics held in Belgium and as a result failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games. It was the first time in the game's history that Pakistan missed out on a spot at the Olympics."'Pakistan Hockey Federation president Akhtar Rasool resigns'
Dawn (newspaper), Updated 20 August 2015, Retrieved 15 May 2021

After retirement

Akhtar retired from active hockey after winning Hockey World Cup, at Bombay in 1982. He remains active in hockey by coaching or training young players in Pakistan with the primary intention of promoting Pakistani hockey. Akhtar has held the offices of President of Punjab Sports Board; President, Punjabi Hockey Association; and President, Punjab Athletics Association. In 1997, he was elected Chief of

Pakistan Hockey Federation The Pakistan Hockey Federation () is the governing body for the sport of field hockey in Pakistan. It is affiliated with the International Hockey Federation (FIH), Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). Management posit ...

(PHF)---Pakistan's hockey supreme body—for a one-year term. He took over the reins at a time when the PHF was almost bankrupt and had gotten out of the 1996 players revolt just before the Hockey World Cup. He was re-elected PHF chief for a second term till 2002 but resigned in 1999 for personal reasons. He then served as the Chairman of the selection committee in 2002.

Awards and recognition

In 1983, Akhtar was awarded

, the highest civil award by the Pakistani Government, in recognition of his contributions to Pakistani hockey.

In active politics

After retirement from active hockey, Akhtar entered politics in 1985. He contested as an independent and was elected MPA to Punjab Assembly. In 1986, he became Excise and Taxation Minister of Punjab. In 1988, he was elected from P.P 128 Ichhra on Islami Jamhuri Itihad ticket and became the Sports Minister of Punjab. In 1990, he again contested on

Islami Jamhoori Ittehad The Islami Jamhuri Ittihad (IJI) was a right-wing conservative alliance formed in September 1988 to oppose the democratic socialist Pakistan Peoples Party in elections that year. The alliance comprised nine parties, of which the major components ...

party ticket and was elected MLA with a big margin. In 1993, he contested Parliament seat on

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties British India *All-India Muslim League, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan ** Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organization above **Unionist Muslim L ...

ticket and became MPA (Member of Provincial Assembly).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rasool, Akhtar 1954 births Living people Pakistani male field hockey players Olympic field hockey players for Pakistan Olympic silver medalists for Pakistan Olympic bronze medalists for Pakistan Olympic medalists in field hockey Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 1972 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 1976 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 1974 Asian Games Field hockey players at the 1978 Asian Games Government College University, Lahore alumni Recipients of the Pride of Performance Sportspeople from Faisalabad Asian Games gold medalists for Pakistan Asian Games field hockey players for Pakistan Medalists at the 1974 Asian Games Medalists at the 1978 Asian Games Punjab MPAs 1985–1988 Punjab MPAs 1988–1990 Punjab MPAs 1990–1993 Punjab MPAs 1993–1996 1978 Men's Hockey World Cup players 20th-century Pakistani sportsmen Asian Games gold medalists in field hockey