That match also marked the coming of age for S A Rahim, the redoubtable footballer who went on to serve the national team as coach and manager from 1950 until his death in 1963. It was under Rahim that India won at two Asian Games apart from reaching the semi-finals at the Melbourne Olympics of 1956 where a record 9 players from Hyderabad found a place in the squad. The stellar performance by the national team at Melbourne “is still considered India’s greatest ever achievement in football”.
It was this euphoria created by Rahim and his band of indomitable footballers of the Hyderabad city police that was primarily responsible for the football mania that gripped the city. Bolstered by the support of masses at practice and meets, the football cult in the city bloomed. Enthusiasts chipped in wherever they could and provided much needed encouragement. Amongst them the services of a few stand out.
Qadar Pasha Chishti, an alumnus of the famed City College who had gained fame as the most renowned Jarrah (0rthopedic physician in the Unani system of medicine) of the city, took it upon himself to provide physiotherapy support to budding footballers apart from directing their training regimen. The one asset that had remained with the underprivileged masses of Hyderabad in those trying times was access to the numerous grounds in the city. Among the most famous grounds, the ones created by the City Improvement Board brought in a new dimension to the concept of public spaces.
In restructuring the city the board had opted for a model in which residential clusters were planned around large open spaces or ‘grounds’. Of the many CIB colonies, the one at Mallepally or Moazzampura, had the distinction of being home to almost a dozen such ‘grounds’ and the more famous amongst them; Fani, Hasham, Bharat Union, Mughal and Zafar Shah, were instrumental in shaping the destiny of generations of youth who had little else to do in their spare time than get together and knock the ball around.
The game of football and the presence of accessible grounds thus provided the sole opportunity for holistic development of physique and character to the youth of Hyderabad during this bleak period in the city’s history. It is on these dusty fields that young men of the city learnt the basics of survival. It was here that they understood the importance of teamwork and the need to stay focused irrespective of the odds.
As a group, they learnt to celebrate wins and grieve over losses, all the while gaining immensely form each aspect the game. In time they emerged as men of substance who gallantly fought their way out of the seemingly futile position that an insensitive society had driven them into. So powerful has been the lure of these grounds that the local Municipal Corporator recently remarked, “When compared to other areas, there are more sports lovers in the Mallepally Division.”
With the wheel of time taking a full circle, the youth of Hyderabad are once again the target of prejudice and oppression. It is time yet again to rekindle an interest in sports for effective character building and hastening the process of making men out of boys. With football still the most potent medium through which a productive tapping of inherent qualities can be achieved, once again the mantle of responsibility had fallen on another legendary footballer of the city.
Indian International and Olympian Mohammed Habib, has taken on the challenge to add a new chapter to the annals of football history of Hyderabad. Habib presides over daily routine at the Hyderabad Sporting ground at Vijaynagar and along with his group of dedicated National and State veterans, has succeeded in bringing about a revival of interest in the game. And as tribute to a great benefactor of the city, Hyderabad Sporting has befittingly named its annual tournament in memory of Rai Janki Pershad.
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