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Spirit of the sport
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Mohammad Rahmat Ullah plans to pen a book about the game of his days
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Photo: G. Krishnaswamy
Olympian hero Mohammad Rahmat Ullah
Mohammad Rahmat Ullah belongs to an era when sports was synonymous with honesty, integrity and discipline.
He is a footballer who played alongside and against some of the legends of Indian football such as P.K. Banerjee, Chuni Goswami, D. Kannan, Tulsidas Balaram and others of that golden period.
Now settled in the U.S., he is aiming to write an autobiography highlighting the spirit of his playing days, the current scenario, and his experiences of playing with his illustrious team-mates. He recently visited Hyderabad to renew his contacts with old friends.
Born in 1938, he took up football at a very young age.
His earliest memories are of wining the Pratapgir Tournament as a member of the Nampally Middle school team. Later he played for Chaderghat HS and Hyderabad Sporting Club. Then as a member of the Nizam college team he represented Osmania University and helped OU to win an All-India tournament beating teams from Bombay and Bengal in the process.
He was selected for the Hyderabad team and had his first brush with the big names of Indian football when his team lost narrowly to East Bengal in another national tournament.
He was selected to play for Hyderabad in the Santosh Trophy in 1956. A year later came the offer from Mohammedan Sporting, Calcutta, and he accepted it. Towards the end of his playing career, he accepted an offer from Mohammedan Sporting (Dhaka) to join the side as a player-cum-coach.
After retiring as a player in 1967 he took up the job of a radio commentator and covered several international tournaments.
He coached the Saudi Airlines team for a few years before making his way to California.
ABHIJIT SEN GUPTA
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