WITH the sad demise of 86-year-old Sultan Azlan Shah in Kuala Lumpur last Wednesday, the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) has lost its mentor.

His association with the AHF as its president lasted over three decades during which he took the game’s continental body to new heights.

After coming at the helm of AHF, he put life into the regional body bringing it at par with its European counterpart.

Previously, Asian hockey was confined to the quadrennial Asian Games. But after his induction, events like Asia Cup (men and women), junior Asia Cup (men and women), U-18 Asia Cup (boys and girls) became part of AHF calendar.

The Malaysian Hockey Federation, of which he was head, launched a prestigious tournament named after him (Azlan Shah Cup) in the year 1983.

The AHF formally came into being in Bangkok in December 1978 with Pakistan’s retired Col A.I.S Dara and retired Brig M.H. Atif elected as president and secretary respectively. Unfortunately, the former could not complete his four-year term due to his sudden demise on Jan 16, 1981 making room for Azlan Shah to assume the role as acting president.

It is pertinent to mention that the idea of the Asia Cup was conceived by Col Dara who had also served as vice-president of the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The then Indian Hockey Federation president Dr M.A.M. Ramaswamy, donated the Asia Cup.

The executive committee of the AHF which met in Kuala Lumpur on April 10, 1981, decided to dedicate the inaugural Asia Cup to late Dara, who had represented British Indian as well as Pakistan hockey teams at the 1936 Berlin and 1948 London Olympics.

Azlan Shah, who was Sultan of Perak and a lawyer and judge par excellence, had a passion for the game and had visited Pakistan on couple of occasions in this regard, including at the launch of inaugural Asia Cup hockey tournament staged at the Hockey Club of Pakistan Stadium in Karachi in 1982 during the era of retired Air Marshal Nur Khan and Atif.

Back home, the late Azlan Shah also used to invite participating hockey teams of different nations in Ipoh at his luxurious Palace to dine.

This correspondent also had the honour of visiting the Palace with the Pakistan junior squad during the 1989 Junior World Cup hockey tournament.

The state-of-the-art sporting facilities at Ipoh also speak high about his avid love for sports. Close to the Azlan Shah Hockey Stadium are a number of squash courts and other facilities.

Malaysia has become a hub of sports during the last quarter-of-a-century, and always remained eager to host many prominent international sporting events.

Like great Mahathir Mohamad, the former prime minister of Malaysia, Azlan Shah also stands tall and his immense contribution to sports in Malaysia, particularly field hockey, have left an indelible mark.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2014