MUSCAT, JULY 3 - Momentous achievements or events that marked the growth of a nation are often sidelined into the annals of history and they remain unnoticed by generations to come. Sayyid Sibtain Naqvi, fondly known as SAS Naqvi, and called Naqvi Saab by his large number of disciples spread across the world, and an octogenarian and former technical advisor to the Oman Olympic Committee has found a way to relive the glorious past on the walls of his house.
The white walls of his two-bedroom apartment near Bait al Falaj area in Ruwi, there sleep the history of Oman’s sports projecting hockey as a national game in the forms of images, certificates, badges and pins, awards and accolades and what more, the bags and suitcases that he used to carry whenever he represented Oman at international sports meets. It is a huge canvas where the portraits of achievements at the Asian Games, Olympics, World Cup and the like are portrayed dominated by the recognitions he received both on the home soil and abroad.
“This museum was born years ago from my fear that all the objects, pictures and letters that marked the growth of sports in the Sultanate would go unnoticed after my time on earth. I have given special focus on hockey because it’s my life and I have been breathing hockey since more than eight decades,” an emotional yet energetic Naqvi Saab, the first official coach of the Oman national hockey team, who spent his whole life nurturing the game told the Observer.
His collections also feature his moments with Oman’s ministers, sports council members, interaction with Dhyan Chand, a great hockey player of all time, photographs of his meetings with Presidents and Prime Ministers of India where he represented the game, among others. He was also the key strength behind the formation of Oman Olympic Committee (OOC).
Naqvi was later promoted to the position of Technical Advisor to the Oman Olympic and Asian Games events. It was him who managed the affairs of the delegation to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, 1988 Seol Olympics, 1992 Barcelona Olympics, 1992 Atlanta Olympics and the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
A number of both Omani and Indian sports stars have already visited Naqvi’s ‘Wall of Fame’ and were wowed by the diverse collection and attention that he has paid to the details. Tayyib Ikram, CEO of Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) and member of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) executive board was one of the key people who was delighted to see more than 75 years of hockey career and the Olympic moments that Naqvi had in his collection.
He first arrived in the Sultanate on July 1, 1982, to join as the official national hockey coach to steer the national hockey team to participate in the Asian Games held in New Delhi. He was on deputation from the Government of India representing the Indian Railways and Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) for 2 years.
That was the beginning of the nearly 4-decade-long association with the Oman sports.
“It was all because of Dr Hammad bin Hamed al Ghafri, former president of Oman Olympic committee and presently the adviser ministry of Ministry of Civil Services who appointed me as the technical adviser of OOC in 1983, to establish a new headquarters and help the national team participate in Olympics and Asian Games,” Naqvi added.
“I have already invested a big amount in materialising this dream of a sports museum. I need the support of Omani commercial organisations to assist in taking this museum to the next level,” Naqvi said.
KABEER YOUSUF
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