Hockey legend refuses offer to undergo heart transplant in Pakistan, insists on going to India

Published April 30, 2018
Former field hockey goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmed being treated at a hospital in Karachi, following complications stemming from a pacemaker and stents implanted in his heart. — AFP/File
Former field hockey goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmed being treated at a hospital in Karachi, following complications stemming from a pacemaker and stents implanted in his heart. — AFP/File

World Cup-winning field hockey goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmed on Monday refused the offer of having his heart transplant conducted in Pakistan.

"Pakistan does not have enough facilities, I want the transplant to be conducted in India," Ahmed said.

Ahmed was reportedly being offered a mechanical heart transplantation which, had he accepted, would have been the first time the procedure was to be conducted in Pakistan.

However, the hockey legend prefers more conventional and proven procedures, for which he believes undergoing a transplant in India would be his best bet.

The ailing sports star had reached out to India last week and asked for help in securing a heart transplant — despite years of breaking the eastern neighbours' "hearts on the field".

The 49-year-old has been suffering for weeks from complications stemming from a pacemaker and stents implanted in his heart.

Ahmed has been a sporting icon in Pakistan since helping the country win the 1994 World Cup in Sydney with his penalty stroke save against the Netherlands in the final.

“I may have broken a lot of Indian hearts on the field of play by beating India in the Indira Gandhi Cup [1989] and in other events but that was sport,” Ahmed had told AFP in a recent interview.

“Now I need a heart transplant in India and for that I need support from the Indian government.”

Ahmed — who played 338 international matches, participated in three Olympics and various other high-profile events in a career spanning from 1986 to 2000 — said the visa could be a lifesaver.

Opinion

Editorial

By-election trends
Updated 23 Apr, 2024

By-election trends

Unless the culture of violence and rigging is rooted out, the credibility of the electoral process in Pakistan will continue to remain under a cloud.
Privatising PIA
23 Apr, 2024

Privatising PIA

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s reaffirmation that the process of disinvestment of the loss-making national...
Suffering in captivity
23 Apr, 2024

Suffering in captivity

YET another animal — a lioness — is critically ill at the Karachi Zoo. The feline, emaciated and barely able to...
Not without reform
Updated 22 Apr, 2024

Not without reform

The problem with us is that our ruling elite is still trying to find a way around the tough reforms that will hit their privileges.
Raisi’s visit
22 Apr, 2024

Raisi’s visit

IRANIAN President Ebrahim Raisi, who begins his three-day trip to Pakistan today, will be visiting the country ...
Janus-faced
22 Apr, 2024

Janus-faced

THE US has done it again. While officially insisting it is committed to a peaceful resolution to the...