KOCHI: Veteran basketball player Mohammad Iqbal, who was the first Keralite to be a part of the Indian basketball team, passed away at 73 on Monday at his residence in Ernakulam.
He represented the nation in several events, including the Asian Basketball Confederation Championship. Iqbal, who captained the Kerala basketball team in the 1970s, featured regularly in the national tournaments throughout his career.
A native of Kottayam, he lived in Panakkaparamb in Madavana, Kochi. He was the team captain of Baselius College, Kottayam, and the Kerala University. He also played for YMCA Kottayam, where the first basketball court in Kerala was built in 1926.
Iqbal was also the president of Rebound Kerala, an association of over 400 retired basketball players from the state. He is survived by his wife Rabiya and children Tina and Asif. The funeral was held at the Juma Masjid in Aluva town on Monday.