SPORTS WORLD: The passing away of Feroze Khan, oldest hockey Olympian.

(From Business Recorder)

Byline: LATEEF JAFRI

Hockey circles grieved over the passing away of the oldest Olympian, Feroze Khan, peacefully in his sleep at the age of 101 on April 20, 2005. Seventy-seven years ago young, energetic and enthusiastic Feroze had given a heart-warming performance at the Amsterdam Olympiad to help undivided India win its first hockey gold by brushing aside the challenge of Holland in the final. In the group encounters Feroze, then 24, had set the tone of pulsating matches with exquisite technical excellence.

In the cornucopia of pre-Olympic matches in Holland and Belgium and other international duels he had underlined the subcontinental style and system which stressed harmony and co-ordination by the whole forward-line, instead of the Dhyan Chand's theory of single-handed stick sorcery. The 1928 team to the Amsterdam Games had such stalwarts as Dhyan Chand, Penniger, Cullen, Shaukat, Jaipal Singh and Yusuf Jan, yet the spectators were enthralled by the patterns fabricated by Feroze with accelerated speed.

Born …