Had he been born in Victoria, Australia, Abdul Samad would have never thought of quitting the sport he has played throughout his life. Samad is nicknamed “Iqbal of Bhopal”, after the 2005 Nagesh Kukunoor film Iqbal, which saw the hearing and speech-impaired protagonist Shreyas Talpade break into the Indian cricket team. But unlike the movie, Samad faces a different fate – the 26-year-old, who is hearing and speech-impaired, is now contemplating giving up his hockey stick and goalkeeping gear forever.
And he has good reason to. Unlike Victoria, where the governing body, Hockey Victoria, has created a programme to include disabled children in the sport, Samad was never given an opportunity to pursue his career in hockey.
Despite him playing 10 hockey nationals (six senior nationals and four junior nationals) alongside regular players, Samad, who will turn 27 next month, never got that encouragement to fulfill his dream of playing for the country. The physical disability proved to be an overwhelming hindrance and what made matters worse was Hockey India’s indifferent attitude.
"He started playing hockey at the age of 10," Samad's younger brother Abdul Suboor to Scroll. "His father, Abdul Wahab, who too was a national hockey player and played for Mohun Bagan in the Kolkata Hockey League, inspired Samad to take up the sport."
Suboor also plays hockey at the junior level, while another brother, Abdul Kadir, who is differently-abled, had played ice hockey for the country in the School Olympics.
“He [Abdul] initially played for Sports Authority of India as he was a trainee at the Central Regional Centre of SAI in Bhopal. Later, he joined the Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy and has been playing for them ever since,” said Suboor.
Samad’s father recently wrote a letter to Hockey India chief Narinder Batra apprising him of the sorry state of affairs. “We requested the Hockey India president to help Samad land a suitable job as he is going into depression due to unemployment,” added Samad’s father Wahab.
'He has a gift of God'
Ashok Kumar, World Cup winning player and son of legendary Dhyan Chand, expressed his displeasure over the treatment meted out to the talented Samad.
“It’s not that we never tried. We knocked every door. We contacted authorities and implored them to do what’s needed but everything went in vain. It’s high-time Samad was helped as he is going into depression. The situation can aggravate further if the authorities keep turning a blind eye,” Ashok Kumar, also the chief coach and technical adviser of the MP Hockey Academy, told Scroll.
Kumar, who scored the winning goal against arch-rivals Pakistan in India’s only World Cup triumph in the final at Kuala Lumpur in 1975, held Hockey India and the government responsible for Samad’s plight. “When Hockey Victoria can run a programme for inclusion of specially-abled players, then why cannot Hockey India? The national body should come forward and look into the issue, otherwise no other child like Samad will ever take up hockey,” he said.
Communication with defenders and other teammates is a must for a goalkeeper in field hockey. Samad, however, can neither speak, nor hear anyone. Shrugging this off though, Samad has been the first-choice goalkeeper for the MP State Hockey Academy for years. He has developed his ways of communication with his teammates.
“Communication has never been a problem with Samad. He has a gift of God in that sense. He has won the best goalkeeper’s award in reputed events like Obaidullah Khan Hockey Tournament. What else can he do?” added Kumar.
Awards and recognition, but no employment
Samad completed a diploma from Industrial Training Institute in Fitter trade. Though there are a few government-reserved positions in various state-run departments for disabled candidates, Samad has not got lucky yet. “We have met chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan twice. He even promised a job for Samad but nothing has materialised so far,” Suboor lamented.
On the other hand, Samad has made some immense achievements. He was given the Godfrey Philips Bravery Award in 2012 (Mind of Steel Award) and was also presented with a Certificate of Excellence in Sports in 2007-‘08 by the BHEL Sports Authority. The governor of Uttar Pradesh Ram Naik felicitated him for his outstanding achievements in sports earlier this year. Apart from playing hockey, Samad also participated in the second National Twenty20 Cricket Championship of the Deaf, held at the Gymkhana Ground in Secunderabad in May this year.
