In the early years of Pakistan, the domestic scene of hockey was mainly dominated by teams from the armed forces and railways, along with the provincial teams. Then, as the Pakistan hockey team started winning medals at the Olympics, other departments also formed their hockey teams.

Permanent jobs with good salaries attracted top players. The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Pakistan Customs teams stood out here. They dominated the hockey field and, for a very long period, almost all of the national team comprised players from these two outfits. The flag carrier airline has won the National Hockey Championship more than any other side, followed by Customs.

Hence, it was a big shock when, more than a decade ago, Customs disbanded its hockey team. At the recently held 67th National Hockey Championship in Rawalpindi, Customs appeared after a gap of 11 years. And they surprised everyone by finishing third.

The list of hockey stalwarts who have played for Customs is not only awesome but mesmerising. Hasan Sardar, for most, is the greatest centre-forward that the game has seen. Hasan was the player of the tournament at the 1982 World Cup, the magnum opus of Pakistan hockey, as well as the 1984 Olympics, when the Green Shirts last won an Olympic gold.

Pakistan Customs reached the victory stand of last month’s 67th National Hockey Championship, after an absence of 11 years. It was a welcome return of a team that has provided the cream of players to Pakistan hockey over the years

The fearsome penalty corner striker Tanvir Dar was the tournament’s top scorer at the first Hockey World Cup in 1971. If the first World Cup was lifted by captain Khalid Mahmood, the second time when Pakistan won, in 1978, the World Cup was lifted by Islahuddin Siddiqui. All happened to be Customs players.

At the 1982 World Cup, Pakistan scored a record 38 goals. The forward line fielded there is acknowledged as the finest in the history of the game. Four of that front line — Kalimullah, Hasan Sardar, Hanif Khan and Samiullah — were from Customs.

The sobriquets earned by customs’ hockey players are now part of the country’s sporting folklore. Anwar Ahmed Khan was the ‘Rock of Gibraltar’, Samiullah was ‘Flying Horse’, Hasan Sardar was ‘The Wizard’.

At the turn of the millennium, when this scribe compiled Pakistan’s hockey team of 2000, the domestic team with the highest representation in this all-time XI of Pakistan was none other than Pakistan Customs. The five players selected were Anwar Ahmed Khan (centre-half), Habib Ali Kiddie (left-half), Khalid Mahmood (right-out), Hasan Sardar (centre-forward) and Samiullah (left-out).

Many Customs stalwarts, after their playing days, distinguished themselves in managerial/coaching roles. The year 1978 was something of an annus mirabilis for Pakistan hockey. The national team won three major international tournaments that year: the World Cup, the Asian Games and the Champions Trophy.

Abdul Waheed Khan, who had won the 1960 Olympics gold medal as a player, was Pakistan’s manager during all three campaigns. Waheed, also a Customs player, later wrote a coaching book titled How to Become World Champions.

For that matter, Anwar Ahmed Khan and Islahuddin are among the very few hockey stalwarts to have penned their autobiographies, which are in themselves great reads for anyone aspiring to play field hockey.

Speed was the forte of the left-winger ‘Flying Horse’ Samiullah and the dashing right-winger Islahuddin. Their defence-shattering runs down the flank captivated hockey fans the world over. Even Bollywood endorsed that.

In February 1978, Pakistan and India played a highly publicised four-Test series with two matches in each country. India were the reigning World Champions while Pakistan went on to win the next World Cup the very next month. It was the first bilateral Test series between the hockey giants of the time. In the Bollywood movie Golmaal, released in early 1979, the hero Amol Palekar is portrayed as a happy-go-lucky boy. When asked by his elders to get ready for a job interview, Palekar replies, “I have to go to watch the first hockey Test between India and Pakistan. Samiullah and Islahuddin will be in action.”

The other departments, such as PIA and the banks, might have teams in more sports disciplines, but for Customs, hockey is the sport. It might not be wrong to say that Customs and hockey were once synonymous in Pakistan.

For a considerable period, the Customs’ chief collector was the ex-officio vice president of the Pakistan Hockey Federation. Even today, despite non-appearance in the last many editions, Customs’ record in the National Championship (eight titles) is second only to PIA.

The writer is a freelance sports journalist based in Lahore. He can be reached on
X: @IjazChaudhry1 and on
e-mail: ijaz62@hotmail.com

SOME GREAT PAKISTAN CUSTOMS PLAYERS

Anwar Ahmad Khan — finest centre-half to play for Pakistan

Habib Ali Kiddie — left-half who played in four Olympics

Abdul Waheed Khan — great centre-forward who still holds Pakistan’s record for highest goals scored in a single edition of the Asian Games:17 goals in 1962

Khalid Mahmood, Islahuddin and Kaleemullah — three of the finest right-wingers

Samiullah — regarded as Pakistan’s finest left-winger

Gulraiz Akhtar — the left-half was one of the stars of the 1968 Olympics gold medal winning team

Jahangir Butt — most versatile player who could play at any position other than that of goalkeeper, also a grand slam winner

Tanvir Dar — full-back and the most fearsome penalty-corner striker of his time; also top scorer at the 1971 World Cup

Hanif Khan — a great left inner, grand slam winner

Hasan Sardar — arguably the finest centre-forward in the history of the game

Rasheedul Hassan — one of Pakistan’s finest right-halves and a grand slam winner

Khawaja Junaid — left-half who was named in the world team after the 1994 World Cup

Mansoor Ahmed — declared best goalkeeper at the 1994 World Cup

Waseem Feroze — speedy left-winger and World Cup winner

PAKISTAN CAPTAINS WHO WERE ALSO CUSTOMS PLAYERS

Anwar Ahmed Khan, Khalid Mahmood, Islahuddin, Samiullah, Hanif Khan, Hasan Sardar, Kaleemullah, Rasheedul Hassan and Mansoor Ahmed.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Pakistan Customs were the winners eight times — 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1988.

Published in Dawn, EOS, November 5th, 2023