Waseem Ahmad
Encyclopedia
Vehari
Vehari is a city in the Punjab province in Pakistan. The city, which is the capital of the district and tehsil of the same name, is located at 30°1'0N 72°21'0E at an altitude of 135m , lies about from the regional metropolis of Multan and about north of the river Sutlej - the southernmost of...
) is a Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
field hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
player and ex- captain of Pakistan hockey team. He is regarded as one of the best left halfs in the world, and became the most capped midfielder and most capped player for Pakistan.
After announcing his retirement from International hockey during Press Conference held after Pakistan-India third-place match of 26th Champions Trophy in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, former Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
captain Waseem Ahmed later staged a comeback to international hockey in 2006 for World Cup.
Career
Pakistan's most-capped player and midfielder became the 34th National hockey Captain of Pakistan when PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
clashed with India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in the opener of 9th Indo-Pak Series (Friday 24 September) at Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
's HCP. He was the 17th captain to lead Pakistan in Champions Trophy. Apart from Shahbaz Ahmed
Shahbaz Ahmed
Shahbaz Ahmad is a former field hockey player from Pakistan who is also known as Shahbaz Ahmad Sr. He is considered to be among the best forwards in the history of field hockey...
, who captained Pakistan 6 times (1990–95) in Champion Trophys, only three players have captained Pakistan on two occasions. They are Hanif Khan (1983, 1985), Mansoor Ahmed (1996, 97) and Muhammad Sarwar (2001–02). Islahuddin, Munawwaruz Zaman, Akhtar Rasool, Samiullah Khan, Manzoor Hussain Jr., Hassan Sardar
Hassan Sardar
Hassan Sardar is a former field hockey player and captain from Pakistan, who won the golden medal with the Men's National Hockey Team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California....
, Rashidul Hassan, Nasir Ali, Qazi Mohib, Muhammad Usman, Atif Bashir and Muhammad Nadeem ND captained once only.
The influential left-half is first in the list of most-capped Pakistanis. Shahbaz Ahmed
Shahbaz Ahmed
Shahbaz Ahmad is a former field hockey player from Pakistan who is also known as Shahbaz Ahmad Sr. He is considered to be among the best forwards in the history of field hockey...
Sr. (303 caps) is the second one. Third-placed Tahir Zaman earned 252 caps in a career spanning from 1987 to 1998. Other Pakistanis with 200+ caps in international hockey circuit are Mansoor Ahmed, Muhammad Usman, Muhammad Nadeem and Sohail Abbas
Sohail Abbas
Sohail Abbas is a field hockey defender and penalty corner specialist from Pakistan. He is the highest scorer of goals in Hockey breaking Dhyan Chand's record 274 goals for the most goals scored in international competition, with his current goal tally at 328...
.
Waseem Ahmed was the seventh midfielder to lead Pakistan. Hamidullah Burki was the first one when he led Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
in 1950 World Championship at Barcelona. Burki was followed by midfielders Ghulam Rasool, Anwar Ahmed Khan, Akhtar Rasool, Rashidul Hassan and Muhammad Usman.
He replaced former skipper Mohammad Nadeem alias ND, who quit international hockey after Pakistan finished 5th at the 28th Olympic Games.
Playing Position (Left Half)
The little fellow, with a perpetual grin on his face, is one of the few universally acclaimed stars of modern era 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), Waseem proved this perception wrong. He is not only a dynamo in defence but also in attack. He displays an extremely high work-rate. Waseem, also known as Muhammad Waseem in media, struck 6 goals in 303 international outings. He is an ex-student of Government College Lahore now known as GC University (Ravian) which in itself is a rare distinction for a hockey player.Skills
Born in VehariVehari
Vehari is a city in the Punjab province in Pakistan. The city, which is the capital of the district and tehsil of the same name, is located at 30°1'0N 72°21'0E at an altitude of 135m , lies about from the regional metropolis of Multan and about north of the river Sutlej - the southernmost of...
,located near Multan, a district of Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
Province, on 10 April 1977, Waseem made his international debut during 16th Champions Trophy 1996
1996 Men's Champions Trophy (field hockey)
The 1996 Men's Champions Trophy took place from December 7 to December 15, 1996 in the newly build Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Madras , India...
at Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
(formerly Madras), India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He possesses excellent tackling and positioning sense in defense. Similarly, he has great ball-control to move up-front, creating gaps in the opponents' defense and supplying passes to the strikers.
Achievements
Waseem played his 200th international hockey match on 24 September 2003 when Pakistan inflicted a 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 LumpurKuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia. Waseem also struck a precious goal in that match when he converted Pakistan's first penalty corner by beating Indian keeper Devesh Chauhan
Devesh Chauhan
Devesh Singh Chauhan is a field hockey goalkeeper from India, who made his international debut for the Men's National Team in early 2000...
. He scored that crucial goal when the match was evenly poised at 2-2.
Being captain of Pakistan Hockey team for the 1st time, team won the 9th Indo-Pak Test Hockey Series and returned to Pakistan with a victory under his captaincy.
Waseem won silver medals in Champions Trophy at Chennai 1996 and Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
1998 besides bronze medals in 2002,2003 and 2004 editions. He also appeared in CTs of 1997, 1999, and 2001. Waseem also represented Pakistan in Olympics 2000, 2004, World Cup 1998, 2002 and Junior World Cup 1997. He has also won silver medal in 5th and 6th Asia Cup at Kuala Lumpur 1999 and 2003 respectively, and bronze medal in 13th Asian Games at Bangkok 1998. Pakistani team won Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 3 times and Waseem Ahmad was in the side every time.
Along with Sohail Abbas
Sohail Abbas
Sohail Abbas is a field hockey defender and penalty corner specialist from Pakistan. He is the highest scorer of goals in Hockey breaking Dhyan Chand's record 274 goals for the most goals scored in international competition, with his current goal tally at 328...
, he 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 FIH's 75th Anniversary Celebrations. Waseem used to play for current national champions of Pakistan, WAPDA and he was the vice-captain of Pakistani team that won the third Junior Asia Cup at Singapore 1996. He also won the gold medal in FIH World Youth U18 Festival at Rawalpindi/Wah 1995-96.
He captained Pakistani team in two events before he announced his retirement. First was India-Pak Hockey Test Series 2004 which Pakistan won easily. Second was Champions Trophy in December at Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
in which Pakistani team got bronze medal under his captaincy.
He is the 2nd Pakistani Player to play the 4th consecutive World Cup in 2010. But the consistency in the team made him the most-capped player of the nation in history.
Retirement
He became PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
's second most-capped player when he earned his 253rd cap on 4 December 2004 in a match against Germany and he became Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
's most-capped (304) 12 December 2004 in his last match before retirement against India which was for Bronze medal and Pakistan won it. He was declared man of the match in this match for his excellent captaincy and midfield work. He also became the most-capped midfielder of Pakistan's hockey history by edging out Muhammad Usman's record of 210 caps. Former national skipper Usman played as a right-half from 1994 to 2002. He came back in the side for playing Champion's Trophy and World Cup in 2006 for Pakistan Hockey Team after taking his retirement back.
Now he is currently playing the centre-half of the Pakistan National team
2010
Ahmad was part of the gold medal winning team at the Asian Games2010 Asian Games
The 2010 Asian Games, also known as the XVI Asiad, was a multi-sport event celebrated in Guangzhou, China from November 12 to November 27, 2010. Guangzhou was the second Chinese city to host the Games, after Beijing in 1990...
in Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...