Manzoor Hussain Atif

With a gold and two silver medals from his four Olympic appearances Manzoor Hussain Atif shares with four others the honour of being Pakistan’s most’ successful Olympian. A full back who could play on both the right and left sides he made his Olympic debut in Helsinki and four years later scored one of the goals that put Pakistan through to the final and a first ever Olympic medal.

His crowning achievement came in 1960 when he played a vital role when Pakistan defeated arch-rivals India in a hard fought final which gave his country its’ first Olympic title. Atif retired from playing after India gained revenge by defeating Pakistan in the final at the Rome Games but returned to the Olympic arena as team manager for Pakistan in 1968 in Mexico. In four major tournaments that he managed Pakistan in, the 1968, 1976 and 1984 Olympics and the 1982 World Cup, Pakistan won three of them and lost only one match - the semi-final against Australia in Montreal. He is unique in being involved with all three Pakistani Olympic golds.

Atif, a soldier who eventually reached the rank of Brigadier in the Pakistani Army, was secretary of the Pakistan Hockey Federation for 11 years, Asian Hockey Federation secretary for 16 years and was vice president of the AHF between 1982 and 2001. He was also chairman of International Hockey Federation Rules Board.