– as a thank you gesture for opening the Kartarpur corridor

Muddasir Abbas, is a formidable hockey player. He is a former Pakistani international, cousin of world-record holder Sohail Abbas and son of Olympian Safdar Abbas. He moved to Melbourne in 2012, and is now a regular in the Australian Masters Hockey team. He was, in fact, the top-scorer at the Trans-Tasman Masters series held in Gold Coast early this year.

Abbas was in Auckland last week, representing and captaining the eventual Hockey trophy winner, Melbourne Sikh United, at the first-ever New Zealand Sikh Games. His team beat the local NZ Punjabi team 4-1 in a thrilling final held at the Southern Districts Hockey Club’s turf in Papatoetoe.

“When the club was finalising the team, the management unanimously decided to hand me the captaincy. They said, with the Pakistani Government opening the Kartarpur corridor – fulfilling a long-standing demand of the Sikh community – it will be fitting that a Pakistani leads the Melbourne Sikhs as a thank you gesture. I feel so honoured and humbled by this act. Let’s hope that sports – be it hockey, cricket or anything else – helps in bringing people together,” said Abbas.

Abbas, who runs a fitness centre in Melbourne and is gearing up to represent Australia in next year’s Masters Hockey World Cup to be held in England, is thrilled by what the club has achieved during his short time there. “This is our fifth title in a row, and I credit the hard work boys have put in for this.”

-Gaurav Sharma