Ali Dara

Ali Iqtidar Shah Dara (April 1, 1915 – January 16, 1981) was an Indian and later Pakistani field hockey player who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics and the 1948 Summer Olympics.[1]

Ali Iqtidar Shah Dara
Personal information
Born1 April 1915[1]
Faisalabad, Punjab, British India
Died16 January 1981 at age 65
Olympic medal record
Men's field hockey
Representing  India
1936 Berlin Team competition

In 1936, he was a member of the Indian field hockey team, which won the gold medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics.[2] He played two matches as forward. "Dara played in the hockey team at Berlin in 1936 when an undivided India won the gold, defeating the home team Germany (8-1). Sitting in the VIP stand was Chancellor Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi party ruling Germany."[3]

Dara was also a serving officer in the Indian Army. His army regiment was sent to Malaysia during the Second World War, where Dara was captured.

In 1947 British India was divided into India and Pakistan. Dara, who hailed from West Punjab province of undivided India, opted to live in Pakistan.

Twelve years later he participated in the 1948 tournament for Pakistan as the team captain. Dara was easily the best choice to construct and lead Pakistan's Hockey team to 1948 Summer Olympics. He played all seven matches as forward. They faced Holland in the match for third place, which the two teams drew with a goal each. This match was replayed later, during which Pakistan was defeated 4-1, leaving them in 4th place.[4]

Dara was the manager of the Pakistan Hockey Team at 1976 Montreal Olympic Games where Pakistan won the bronze medal.[3]

References
  1. Profile of Ali Dara at sports-reference.com website, Retrieved 12 April 2017
  2. Ali Dara's Olympic database Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 12 April 2017
  3. Ali Dara on Dawn newspaper, Published 11 September 2016, Retrieved 12 April 2017
  4. Ali Dara on The Friday Times newspaper Archived 6 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Published 1 July 2011, Retrieved 12 April 2017


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.