Lal Shah Bokhari

Lal Shah Bokhari
لال شاہ بخاری
	Indian hockey team en route to Los Angeles Olympics in 1932. Captain of the team, Lal Shah Bokhari, (in turban) is sitting on extreme left chair.
Personal information
Full name	Syed Lal Shah Bokhari
Born	13 January 1906; Lyallpur, Punjab, British India
Died	22 July 1959 (aged 53); Baghdad, Iraq
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Playing position	Left-half
Youth career
1921-1926	Government College, Lahore
Senior career
Years	Team
1927-1933	Government College, Lahore
National team
Years	Team
1932	India
Medal record
Men's Field Hockey
Representing British India
Olympic Games
	Last updated on: 4 May 2024

Lal Shah Bokhari (Urdu: لال شاہ بخاری; born 13 January 1906 -- died 22 July 1959) was a field hockey player who represented India. He was the captain of the 15-member Indian field hockey team in the 1932 Summer Olympics.

1932 Olympics

In 1932, he was the captain^[3] of the India men's national field hockey team, which won the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics. There were total three teams in the tournament and every team played two matches. He played both the matches from his team.

The Indian team was troubled by groupism (natives vs Anglo-Indians) that surfaced when Lal Shah Bokhari was named captain against the expectations of Broome Eric Pinniger. It appeared that Pinniger would not go with the team in protest. However, later he reconsiled and accompanied the team. The team arrived in Los Angeles to a rousing greeting.^[4]

Opts for Pakistan

At the time of partition of India in 1947, he was serving as Hajj Officer to the Government of India and stationed at Delhi. He opted for Pakistan upon the country's independence from Britain and served as a diplomat for Pakistan -- his last posting being Pakistan's ambassador to Iraq.^{[citation needed]}