Hockey Player In Distress: Requires Indian Visa
Hockey Player In Distress: Requires Indian Visa: World Cup-winning field hockey goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmed has declined the offer of having his heart transplant conducted in Pakistan. The 49 year old has been suffering for weeks from complications curtailing from a pacemaker and stents implanted in his heart.
“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, if he had 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 neighbor’s “hearts on the field”.
“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 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 urged for Indian visa that could be a lifesaver.
Pakistani nationals are allowed medical visa despite the strained relations between the two governments. Ahmed added that he had been sanctioned $100,000 by Shahbaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab and his expenses are being borne by the Shahid Afridi Foundation. With three Olympics under his belt, multiple Champions Trophy appearances and a World Cup gold to boot, in 1994, Ahmed gained legendary status in the subcontinent’s hockey circles, when as Pakistan’s goalkeeper he made two crucial saves during the penalty strokes in the World Cup final against the Netherlands.
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