Sitting behind his office desk, Farooq Saeed, 43, seems fairly docile. He’s courteous and proffers masala tea.
But if you have a quick look through some of his photos of him in action in a long career in the top league of hockey and cricket in the city it’s a whole different ballgame.
There’s one photograph of Saeed practically sitting on an unfortunate opposition player during a hockey game, and you just don’t want to get in the way of that stick. Saeed was Hong Kong’s hockey captain for 14 years and also represented Hong Kong in cricket. He represented the city in Asia Cups and Asian Games. He’s been an inspiration to countless young sportsmen and to the ethnic minority kids who make up most of the teams.
But his is not an easy story of luxury kit, brandname sports shoes and air conditioned training. Saeed, who came to Hong Kong as a boy with his family from Pakistan, returned to his home country to study commerce and train in the sports he loves.
Kids here need to play sport. It’s good for your health and helps you mentally
“Sometimes I would have to cycle to the sports grounds in 40-degree heat at three in the afternoon,” he says. “I didn’t have the latest Nike trainers that I could change every three months. I used to get up before dawn to make my sports drinks with sugar and salt. There was no Pocari Sweat.”