Ijaz Chaudhry
Rao Saleem Nazim, who represented the Pakistan hockey team from 1974 to 1976, passed away this Wednesday afternoon in his hometown of Faisalabad. As a right half, he earned medals in all three title tournaments of his time: a silver at the World Cup in 1975, a bronze at the Olympics in 1976, and a gold at the Asian Games in 1974, consistently featuring in the first-choice squad.
Born in Faisalabad, he grew up in a city recognized as a prominent hockey hub. A district of Sargodha division, Faisalabad was granted divisional status in the early 1980s. Saleem Nazim made his mark by representing the Sargodha division in national championships before joining the National Bank, a leading team in Pakistan's domestic circuit, where he eventually retired as the Senior Vice President. He toured East Africa with the Young Pakistan team in 1974 and made his final international appearance at the 1976 Quaid-e-Azam Centenary Tournament in Lahore.
Once his playing days were over, Saleem Nazim remained dedicated to the sport in various roles. He coached the National Bank team to its first national championship triumph. He remained on the coaching panels for both the junior and national teams, including that of the squad which claimed a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics, Pakistan's last Olympic medal in hockey. He had stints as a member of the national selection committee. Acted as a technical official in international tournaments, including the Champions Trophy and Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
As an administrator, he was the Pakistan Hockey Federation’s Joint Secretary; and was a dynamic Secretary of the Punjab Hockey Association.
Like all Pakistanis, he was perturbed by the dwindling fortunes of Pakistan hockey. Saleem Nazim was at the forefront of the most active forum of former hockey stalwarts, journalists and hockey lovers. They spoke about the failures and corruption of the PHF through various platforms and met the powers that be.
In recent years, he established and ran the M.H. Atif Hockey Academy in Faisalabad, where he nurtured young talents.
Rao Saleem Nazim lived and breathed hockey throughout his life.
Ijaz Chaudhry writes on hockey & other sports. For more about him & his work, visit http://www.sportscorrespondent.info