Gulam Abbas Moontasir (7 January 1942 – 15 November 2022) was an Indian professional basketball player.

Early life

Born in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, he was introduced to basketball by an American missionary at the age of nine at the courts at

Nagpada Nagpada is a neighbourhood in South Mumbai. The place derives its name from a local Shiva temple, and abode of Naag or the snake wound around Shiva's neck. It has a community basketball court. In 2005, Nagpada was the location of the Sada ...

in central Mumbai. He studied at Mumbai's Antonio D'Souza School and D.G.

Ruparel College Doongasree Gangji Ruparel College of Arts, Science and Commerce, known as Ruparel College, is an undergraduate college in Matunga, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is run by the Modern Education Society, Pune and is affiliated with the University ...

Career

Moontasir played for his school, college,

Bombay University University of Mumbai is a public state university in Mumbai. It is one of the largest university systems in the world with over 549,000 students on its campuses and affiliated colleges. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. It was est ...

and the

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

State, in turn. He made his international debut in an exhibition match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in Mumbai in 1960. He represented India in the quadrangular in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

in 1964 and captained the Indian side in the

Asian Basketball Championship The FIBA Asia Cup (formerly the FIBA Asia Championship and ABC Championship) is an international basketball tournament which takes place every four years between the men's national teams of Asia and Oceania. Through the 2015 edition, the tourna ...

held in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

in 1969 and 1975. Moontasir was also member of the Indian team that participated in the 1970

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

in Bangkok and took part in the 10th Anniversary confederation Tournament in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. He was chosen for the Asian All-Star team in 1970. By the age of 22, Moontasir had become the top player in the country's history. On international tours, he learned of different styles of play and recognized that the game needed to play in order for India to compete internationally. He identified three main problems: a stilted, outdated method of play, "ridiculous" refereeing, in which the referees officiated from their seats on the sidelines, and constant bickering by the governing authorities of the BFI. His attempts to bring the game forward were not well received by the authorities, who suspended him for three years. In 1970, he became the first Indian basketball player to receive the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjun ...

in 1970 for his achievement in national sport. He played his last national level match at the age of 44 when he represented the Railways in the Federation Cup in 1986. Moontasir also authored the book ''Principles of Basketball''.

Films

Moontasir also played a role in several movies, including the 1981 film '' Khoon Ki Takkar'' and in the 1986 film Aashiana.

References

External links

1942 births 2022 deaths Indian men's basketball players Sportspeople from Mumbai Basketball players from Maharashtra Recipients of the Arjuna Award Basketball players at the 1970 Asian Games Asian Games basketball players for India {{India-basketball-bio-stub