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Pakistan Sports Board to build stadium named after deceased Olympian Mansoor Ahmed
Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) on Thursday announced that it will construct a stadium in Islamabad in the memory of Olympian Mansoor Ahmed, who passed away last week.
A meeting of the executive board of the PSB accepted Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary Shahbaz Ahmad Senior's suggestion to build a stadium after the World Cup winning hockey goalkeeper.
The board also decided to provide Rs1 million to the deceased family and approved recommendation of taking out health insurance for all of its athletes.
Ahmed, who was 49, passed away after suffering for weeks from complications stemming from a pacemaker and stents implanted in his heart, and had reached out to India for help in securing a heart transplant.
He had become a sporting icon in Pakistan's hockey circles after helping the country win the 1994 World Cup in Sydney with his penalty stroke save against the Netherlands in the final.
Ahmed played 338 international matches and also participated in three Olympics and various other high-profile events in a career spanning from 1986 to 2000.
In addition to being named the world's best goalkeeper on four occasions, Ahmed was bestowed with a presidential award in 1988 and the Pride of Performance in 1994.
Comments (17) Closed
That's so cheap. No money given for treatment of deceased but 1 million for stadium.
Building a hospital with facilities will be a better tribute...
They can build a stadium in his name to protect his legacy but not have enough funds for his treatment when he was alive. Tells a lot about our national character.
I wish they would have spent only 0.001% on his treatment as well.
Always appreciation after the icons have gone.
They could not helped him to get his treatment in India and now they are building stadium. What a joke
Did nothing for him during his life time and now stadium.....what a mockery. May be stadium will earn money to many
Instead of building a new stadium and neglecting it later, fix an old stadium and rename it after him
whats the use. when he needed financial assistance no one came forward to help.
Why couln't you have paid this amount for his treatment and to support his poor financial position.
Too little. Too late.
That's what we are good at. Easy way out. Because helping him when he was in need actually required some one to step up. Naming a stadium, not so much...
Name and build a stadium in Mansoor Ahmed's name but you should have helped him financially and morally for best medical treatment anywhere. Money will not bring him back. And for India, you missed a great opportunity to be compassionate and caring.
An extremely bad message has gone to the junior hockey players and young sportsmen of the country. They have clearly seen that our system is not going to help them in need. Will not support them even for most basic need of healthcare. Instead it would celebrate their death! Please think what are we doing!
Such a shame. Why do we always wake up when some event has already taken place. is Pakistan the name of a country that only reacts to something rather preempts it. What's the use of I million to the family when the Soul is no more there. If those who are in power and management can think beyond their own agendas and benefits, we will start to think about all those who are suffering and those who have served us as heroes.
Invent a machine He didn’t want to have heart transplant in the country. Change that will you.
@ahamed Time to look into the mirror.