The Autobiography of Aslam Sher Khan
By Matin Khan, Allied Publishers, 1982
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1975 World Cup |
Was it wrong to be fathered by an Olympian, or to have a mother who ate just once day after her husband's death to nurture her son into a hockey player? I cursed the chauvinistic bastards who had selected the playing team. I hated everybody, even my father and mother. Then I forgot my prayers and self-pity. "You son of a bitch, give me a chance - damn you." |
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ndia was the last team to land at Kuala Lumpur in March 1975. There was a
festive air in the Malaysian capital where the tournament was being held.
All the participating teams were put up in the Merlin hotel. The World Cup was displayed in a glass casket in the lobby. I used to watch it wistfully, wondering whether I would have a hand in winning it for my country.
I could not sleep that first night in Kuala Lumpur, like on all other nights during our stay. The night before the World Cup tournament was about to begin, I prayed to God to help me prove myself worthy of representing my country.
The next day, instead of playing for India, I was once again relegated to the sidelines. Aslam Sher Khan, the solitary man who towered for India against the Asian All-Star forwards, had been discarded yet again.
I burnt with rage and shame. Much as I tried, I could not understand the reason for my disgrace. Why was I considered an anathema? What the hell was wrong in being Aslam Sher Khan.
Was it wrong to be fathered by an Olympian, or to have a mother who ate just once day after her husband's death to nurture her son into a hockey player?
I cursed the chauvinistic bastards who had selected the playing team. Those people were only concerned with themselves, and could not think beyond the first person singular or plural.
I hated everybody, even my father and mother. I kept turning to God - please give me a chance, please God please. Then I even forgot my prayers and self-pity.
"You son of a bitch, give me a chance - damn you."
With Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi