THE legendary Syed Abdul Rahim is a forgotten hero. The man who was revered as one of the greatest Indian coaches is a forgotten footballer today. His birth centenary this month went unnoticed by the government and sports authorities.
Born on August 17, 1909, Rahim was responsible for India’s fantastic performance in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics where the country finished fourth after defeating host Australia. As many as nine players from the State represented the country in that Olympics. India’s only football gold came in the 1962 Asian Games at Jakarta. Rahim’s fine-tuned the talent of several footballers in the State and also transformed the Indian football team into a force to reckon with in international tournaments.
It is sad that even the All India Football Federation (AIFF) did not deem it fit to honour the great coach and the State too is ignorant. Rahim is to football what Dhyan Chand is to hockey in India. His son SS Hakim, himself an Olympian, is furious about the ease with which the late footballer has been forgotten. “My father never craved any reward. He was an honest coach. He produced over 100 international players, a dozen Olympians and more than 20 Asian Games footballers. India had the best results under my father. The facts are there for everyone to see. But, sadly, the Government (State and Centre) has not recognised his efforts, even in his centenary year. In fact, it would have been a fitting tribute if a stamp would have been released in his honour this year,” said Hakim, from Delhi.
An emotional Tulsidas Balaram, who was a member of the 1956 Olympics team and who played football at Secunderabad before migrating to Bengal, blasted the government for the indifferent attitude.
Speaking from Kolkata, Balaram said the late Rahim’s contribution to Indian football was immense. “Rahim was a great coach and a gentleman. He was disciplined and dedicated. He was a master strategist whose mind worked like a computer. When India won the 1962 Asian Games gold in Jakarta, Rahim was in an advanced stage of cancer. But that did not stop him and he continued to train the team despite being in pain. How can the country forget all this,” rued the 72-year-old veteran. He added it was sad that Rahim’s family was not called or given the monthly pension scheme by the Sports Ministry when the 1956 Olympians were honoured.
Mohammed Zulfiqaruddin, also a member of the 1956 Olympics team and who was spotted by the late Rahim, was critical about the State Government and the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) in their failure to recognise the services of Rahim. “Rahim had the unique gift of transforming a team into a winning unit. He worked hard on the AP team and the Hyderabad City Police teams as well. Our state was the number one in football as we won the Santosh, Durand, Rovers tournaments. The list is long,” said the veteran Zulfiqaruddin.
Former Indian captain Victor Amalraj lamented the infighting in the AP Football Association. “Earlier, we had the Rahim league (introduced in 1964 after his death in June 11, 1963) as a remembrance. That has also disappeared from the map thanks to the infighting. We are planning to organise an exhibition match in honour of this great coach,” said Amalraj.
das@epmltd.com