Hockey Olympian Anjum Saeed, who travelled with the senior Pakistan team to the FIH Pro League in Argentina as manager, landed in trouble after being offloaded in Brazil for smoking on the airplane while it was refuelling at the Rio de Janeiro airport.
According to officials, Anjum and a Pakistan player were not allowed to board the flight to Dubai after he was found smoking during the stopover in Brazil. The aircraft had halted only for refuelling.
Anjum, a former defender and midfielder, was part of Pakistan’s campaign in the 1992 Olympics, where the team reached the semifinals. He was also a member of the squad that won the World Cup and Champions Trophy in 1994.
He had been sent as manager for the Argentina leg of the Pro League. After returning home earlier this week, Anjum claimed that he did not travel back with the team because of personal work in Dubai.
However, an official of the Pakistan Sports Board said the federation had been asked to conduct an independent inquiry into the incident, saying it did not reflect well on Pakistan sport.
The official said the board had gathered its own information but wanted to see how the Pakistan Hockey Federation would proceed, given the seriousness of the issue.
“Apparently the matter was escalated by Anjum and another player when the manager was confronted for smoking on the airplane as it refuelled,” he said.
Pakistan, meanwhile, endured a poor campaign in their first-ever appearance in the FIH Pro League.
