Olympian Mohammed Shahid, one of the greatest legends of Indian hockey,died on Wednesday, after battling kidney and liver ailments at a Gurgaon hospital.

Shahid, who died at the age of 56 was part of the gold-medal winning team at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He captained India during the 1985-86 season and was known for his legendary dribbling skills and speed. Shahid formed a great pair with hockey great Zafar Iqbal. He played in the silver-medal winning team at the Delhi Asian Games of 1982, and also won bronze in 1986 Seoul Asiad. An Arjuna Awardee, Shahid received the Padma Shri in 1986. He made his debut in the international hockey scene at the young age of 19 in 1979.

Olympian Ashish Ballal spoke to Newslaundry:“He was not just a legend on the grass but also made a successful transition to AstroTurf. Creating a penalty corner was one of the easiest things for Shahid. When he was playing on AstroTurf the Indian team used to have 20 to 25 penalty corners every match. He could create a corner out of nothing because of his dribbling skills.”