The 3rd World Cup was held in 1975 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Rasheed Junior had been appointed team captain but got injured so Islahuddin took over the captaincy. Poland were Pakistan’s opening pool match opponents and surprised Pakistan by taking the lead in the 4th minute through a penalty corner. Goals by Manzoorul Hasan and Samiullah gave Pakistan a 2-1 lead but another penalty corner conversion by Poland ensured that the match finished 2-2. Pakistan’s next game was against the Netherlands and this ended in a 3-3 draw. Pakistan’s scorers were Manzoorul Hasan, Zahid and Akhtar Rasool. Pakistan won their next two matches, beating New Zealand 2-0 and Malaysia 2-1.

In their last pool outing, Pakistan overran Spain 5-0, with two goals from Manzoorul Hasan and one each by Zahid, Azam and Samiullah.

The semi-final saw Pakistan in imperious form as they outclassed West Germany 5-1 with a brilliant display of attacking hockey. Manzoorul Hasan and Manzoor Junior scored two goals each. The fifth was netted by Samiullah.

The final was another meeting with India in front of a 70,000-strong crowd. Zahid put Pakistan ahead in the 17th minute, but then tragedy struck. Samiullah was tackled roughly by the Indian right half and the resultant fall broke his collar bone. His departure from the field disrupted Pakistan’s rhythm and India leveled through a penalty corner hit by Surjit Singh in the 25th minute.

In the second half, India’s right-in Ashok Kumar scored through an angular shot that went under the goalkeeper’s feet. Pakistan thought it had only hit the post but the umpire signaled a goal, leaving India 2-1 winners.

The 1976 Olympic Games were staged in Montreal. For the first time, the tournament was being played on Astroturf. Rasheed Junior and Samiullah were back from injury, with Rasheed Junior also captaining the side. Pakistan started strongly beating Belgium 5-0. They were then held to a 2-2 draw by Spain but this was followed by an emphatic 4-2 win over West Germany. Munawwaruz Zaman scored twice from penalty corners and there were goals by Manzoorul Hasan and Shahnaz Shaikh. The reserve goalkeeper Qamar Zia also saved a German penalty stroke. Next, New Zealand were pushed aside 5-2 and Pakistan topped their pool.

Their semi-final match against Australia began with a penalty stroke goal by Akhtar Rasool in the very first minute. Tempers became frayed and in the process Shahnaz was injured while Rasheed Junior and Australia’s Ron Riley were sent off the field temporarily. Pakistan could not regain their composure and Australia first equalised trough Riley and then went ahead from a penalty corner conversion by Irvine. The final score was 2-1 in Australia’s favour.

In the third place playoff, Pakistan overcame Netherlands 3-2 and came home with the bronze medal.

The year 1978 had a busy schedule for the hockey team. The first major event was the 4th World Cup, held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Led by Islahuddin, Pakistan started their Group B matches by overwhelming Ireland 9-0 and Italy 7-0. In the next match, against Netherlands, Munawwaruz Zaman converted a penalty corner in the 16th minute but this was soon neutralised by Litjens off a penalty corner as well. The halftime score was 1-1, but second half goals by Manzoor Junior and Akhtar Rasool gave Pakistan a comfortable 3-1 win.

Malaysia was beaten 3-0 with two goals by Hanif and one by Islahuddin. Spain were also defeated 2-1 with all goals coming in the first half. Pakistan’s scorers were Shahnaz and Manzoor Junior. In their final group match, Pakistan routed the hosts Argentina 7-0 and emerged as the group winners.

The World Cup of football was being hosted by Argentina later in the year. Pakistan’s style of play had impressed Cesar Menotti, the Argentinian football team manager, who specially visited the Pakistani team training session to gather tips on how to break down packed defences. These were deployed by the Argentinian football team, which eventually won the World Cup.

Pakistan’s semi-final opponents were West Germany who were in top form, having beaten India 7-0 in their group match. In a tight match, the German midfield kept the Pakistan defence at bay and at the end of normal time the game was goalless. Extra time was played and there was no score in its first half. With two minutes to go before the end of the second half of extra time, Manzoor Junior dodged past a couple of defenders and passed the ball to Islahuddin who dribbled through the defence, cutting in from the right flank to the left in position. Once inside the D he feigned a mock body movement to deceive the goalkeeper and then scooped the ball over his head into an empty goal. Pakistan won 1-0.

In the final, Pakistan met the Netherlands whom they had beaten in their group match. In a game of fluctuating fortunes, Pakistan scored in the 2nd minute through a penalty stroke taken by Akhtar Rasool. In the 9th minute, Kruize equalised for the Netherlands, also from a penalty stroke. The Netherlands then took the lead through a penalty corner conversion by Litjens in the 40th minute but Islahuddin leveled the score six minutes later. With seven minutes to go, Pakistan were awarded their ninth penalty corner of the match. Surprisingly, Ehsanullah was asked to take this corner instead of Munawwaruz Zaman. A powerful low shot beat the defence, putting Pakistan ahead. The final whistle had Pakistan as winners by 2-1. The World Cup was back.

During the World Cup, the FIH held a press conference at which Air Marshal Nur Khan announced the introduction of a new tournament between the top six hockey teams of the world. It was to be called the Champions Trophy and the inaugural event was to be played in Lahore later that year. Pakistan also donated the trophy for the event.

West Germany, the Netherlands and India conveyed their inability to participate and were replaced by Great Britain and Spain. Five countries, therefore, competed in this event which was held on a round robin league basis. Islahuddin was retained as the captain of the Pakistan team.

In their opening match, Pakistan beat the Olympic champions New Zealand comprehensively by a 6-2 margin. This was followed by comfortable wins of 3-1 against Spain and 4-1 against Great Britain. Pakistan’s final match was against Australia. In front of a packed stadium, Pakistan beat the Aussie side 2-1 with goals coming from Manzoor Junior and Shahnaz Shaikh. A second key trophy was now in Pakistan’s possession.

The third major hockey event in 1978 was the Asian Games in Bangkok which began a few weeks after the Champions Trophy. Led once more by Islahuddin, Pakistan swept aside their opponents in the group matches, beating Japan 2-0, Thailand 9-0 and Bangladesh 17-0.

Their semi-final opponents were Malaysia and Pakistan went 5-0 up with two penalty corner goals by Manzoorul Hasan and one goal each by Shahnaz, Hanif Khan and Manzoor Junior. Pakistan were coasting to victory when Shahnaz Shaikh, who was being played as a centre forward, sustained an injury in the second half and had to leave the field. Shortly after this, Islahuddin collided with the Malaysian left-half Mohinder Singh and broke his jaw. The loss of two key players let the Malaysian team back into the match and they reduced the deficit to 5-2, which was the eventual score.

The final was a familiar face-off against India. Shahnaz was back and even Islahuddin played the full seventy minutes despite his broken jaw. Pakistan had the upper hand throughout the match with its left wing of Samiullah and Hanif Khan running rings round the Indian defence. Munawwaruz Zaman converted the first penalty corner that Pakistan received to send Pakistan up 1-0. Six more penalty corners went a begging and the final score remained 1-0 in Pakistan’s favour. They had regained the Asian Games title and were now worthy winners of three premier hockey events, namely the World Cup, the Champions Trophy and the Asian Games Trophy. Only the Olympic Games title remained to be won but the Olympics were still two years away.

The year 1978 had been an excellent year for the Pakistan team. They now had the perfect springboard from which to launch their drive for strengthening their supremacy in the world of international hockey.

Dr Salman Faridi is a senior surgeon, poet, sports aficionado and an avid reader with a private collection of over 7000 books

salmanfaridilnh@hotmail.com