The moment was poignant and there were tears in everybody’s eyes as former Olympians along with thousands of sports lovers bid final adieu to hockey wizard Mohammed Shahid as he was laid to rest at Taktakpur graveyard today afternoon.
Indian hockey legend Shahid, who was being treated in a private hospital in Gurgaon, had passed away on Wednesday due to multiple organ failure.
With the arrival of Shahid’s mortal remain at his residence on Maqbool Alam road from Delhi last night, hundreds of his relatives and admirers had gathered.
Shahid’s best friend Zafar Iqbal along with Olympians Ashok Kumar, Sujit Kumar, RP Singh, Shaqil Ahmed and Sardar Singh offered their tributes. Politicians cutting across party lines also paid homage to Shahid.
It was World Cup winner Ashok Kumar and best friend Iqbal, who wrapped Shahid’s body with Indian tri-colour.The mortal remains was taken inside Dayam Khan mosque to offer Janaze-ki-Namaaz and later it marched again towards the graveyard.
Call it irony, Shahid was laid to rest in Taktakpur graveyard, which is located few hundred yards away from the Police Lines ground, where a young talent bloomed and the veteran artist was at work during his last charity match on 2011.
The last rites were performed in front of UP minister Ram Sakal Gurjar, DIG range Sanjiv Gupta, district magistrate VK Anand and SSP Akash Kulhary.
The 56-year-old legend was admitted to Medanta – the Medicity – earlier this month after a bout of jaundice and dengue made his condition worse. He was airlifted from Varanasi.
Known for his dribbling skills, Shahid was considered one of India’s greatest hockey players. He was a member of the V Baskaran-led Indian team that won a gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
He was also a part of the national team that won a silver medal at the Delhi Asian Games in 1982 and bronze in the Seoul Asiad in 1986.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India had lost a talented sportsman.