Karachi: Pakistan’s former star hockey goalkeeper and captain Mansour Ahmad passed away at a city hospital due to heart failure on Saturday. He was 49.
Mansour, who played for the country from 1986 to 2000, was a member of the Pakistan team that won gold at the 1994 World Cup in Sydney. He also won a bronze medal in the 1992 Olympic Games.
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) President, Brigadier (rtd) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar and Secretary General Shahbaz Ahmad have expressed their grief over the passing away of the legendary goalkeeper.
“President and the Secretary General prayed to Almighty Allah to bless the departed soul with eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear the loss,” a PHF statement read.
Mansour, a three-time Olympian, was suffering from heart ailment for the last three years. He had earlier also appealed to the Indian government to issue him the necessary visa to travel to Chennai for heart transplant.
A renowned heart surgeon, Dr Komarakshi Balakrishnan at the Fortis Malar hospital in Chennai had looked at Mansour’s case and assured him if he came to India he could do the heart transplant immediately.
Dr Qamar, who is the administrative head at the NIVCD, said Mansour’s condition was not right for him to travel anywhere.
Mansour appeared in 338 internationals between 1986 and 2000. He also played three Asian Games and won gold in 1990 edition.
