SM Ali Sayeed, a player of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics gold medal winning hockey team, died during treatment at a private hospital on Monday night. 82-year-old Armi Ali Saeed was ill for a long time. His last rites will be performed at Khandani Kabristan located in Gulachipur locality at 2.30 pm on Tuesday.
His nephew Amir Ibrahim told that Ali Saeed could not move anywhere due to illness for about one and a half years. He was admitted to a hospital in Rustampur on Saturday when his health worsened. The doctors tried, but they could not be saved. He breathed his last around 9 pm. After that his body was brought to his ancestral residence Nawab House, Mohalla Bade Kajipur. He was followed by brother Mohd. Ibrahim and his family have left.
SM Ali Saeed, a strong pillar of the country’s hockey, was an important member of the team that won the gold medal in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He was the best left winger forward. Ali Saeed was the only player from the district to win a medal in the Olympics.
Passionate about hockey in the 1960s, this player’s love for hockey remained till the end of his life. Even now he used to discuss hockey with his family and friends.
The 1964 Tokyo Olympics was historic for him as well as for entire Gorakhpur. It was the first and last Olympics in which a player from Gorakhpur was present in the gold medal winning team. After that, two players from Gorakhpur, Prem Maya and Preeti Dubey (both from hockey) also participated in the Olympics, but that team could not win any medal.
Detailed
SM Ali Sayeed, a player of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics gold medal winning hockey team, died during treatment at a private hospital on Monday night. 82-year-old Armi Ali Saeed was ill for a long time. His last rites will be performed at Khandani Kabristan located in Gulachipur locality at 2.30 pm on Tuesday.
His nephew Amir Ibrahim told that Ali Saeed could not move anywhere due to illness for about one and a half years. He was admitted to a hospital in Rustampur on Saturday when his health worsened. The doctors tried, but they could not be saved. He breathed his last around 9 pm. After that his body was brought to his ancestral residence Nawab House, Mohalla Bade Kajipur. He was followed by brother Mohd. Ibrahim and his family have left.
Ritika
