Gulraiz Akhtar (2 February 1943 – 1 November 2021) was a Pakistani

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. He was born in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

, Pakistan to Muhammad Amin and Amina. Although his father was a lawyer by profession, Akhtar had a humble upbringing. He was fourth among seven siblings, three brothers and four sisters. Inspired by their uncle Muhammad Naseeb, a member of Pakistan field hockey team in 1950, and

Naseer Bunda Naseer Ahmed Bunda (15 May 1932 – 20 March 1993) was a field hockey player from Pakistan. He was born in Rawalpindi. Naseer Bunda was one of ten brothers and one sister. Two of his brothers died in infancy. Naseer's brother, Rasheed Ahmed, was ...

, a neighbor and family friend who was also an Olympic gold medalist, all three brothers, Javed Akhtar, Pervez Akhtar and Gulraiz Akhtar started playing field hockey regularly at a local playground in Rawalpindi. One of his elder brothers, Pervez Akhtar, also became an international player for Pakistan. However, Gulraiz Akhtar shone the most, becoming Pakistan's first left-half to score a goal. His career concluded with three gold medals in international tournaments. He won his first gold medal at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. Gulraiz Akhtar served in

Pakistan Customs Pakistan Customs () is one of the cadres of the Civil Services of Pakistan. It is staffed by officers from the Pakistan Customs Service (PCS) which is one of the premier occupational groups among Pakistan's civil services. Pakistan’s Federal ...

before attaining retirement age. He remained active in hockey events and sometimes wrote in renowned magazines and newspapers. He died on 31 October 2021, in Lahore, aged 78, and was buried there.

References

External links

* 1943 births 2021 deaths Field hockey players from Rawalpindi Pakistani male field hockey players Olympic field hockey players for Pakistan Olympic gold medalists for Pakistan Olympic medalists in field hockey Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 1968 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 1970 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for Pakistan Asian Games field hockey players for Pakistan Medalists at the 1970 Asian Games 20th-century Pakistani sportsmen Asian Games gold medalists in field hockey {{Pakistan-fieldhockey-bio-stub