Feroze Khan becomes world's oldest living Olympian

[Sultanzz]

Feroze Khan becomes world's oldest living Olympian, celebrates 100th birthday

LAHORE (September 10 2004): The world's oldest-known Olympic medal winner, Pakistan's Feroze Khan, celebrated his 100th birthday on Thursday and said sportsmen with discipline could live longer.

"I am proud to be 100 and am going great. This is ample proof of the fact that discipline and individuals with sporting habits can live longer," Khan told AFP.

Khan, who won a field hockey gold medal for India in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, became the oldest living Olympic champion after the United States' James Rockefeller died last month.

Pakistan was carved out of India in August 1947 after independence from Britain.

Rockefeller won a gold medal in rowing in the 1924 Paris Olympics and according to International Olympic Committee (IOC) records, was the oldest living Olympian, with Khan in second spot.

Khan said he felt honoured when Pakistan celebrated his centenary. Pakistan Television aired a 40-minute documentary on Wednesday night and leading newspapers carried interviews.

Khan, who was born in Jullundur, India, used a tree branch as his first hockey stick. India's hockey team was able to compete in the 1928 Olympics only after getting a loan from a private company, he recalled.

"En route to the hockey finals, we beat Austria 6-0, Belgium 9-0, Denmark 5-0 and Switzerland 6-0 in the semi-finals to set up the title clash against Holland which we won 3-0," Khan said.

The Olympian said he is saddened by the slump in Asian field hockey. "I saw some of the matches in the Athens Olympics and am sad at the steep decline."

No Asian team qualified for the semi-finals. Pakistan, the best of the Asian teams, finished only fifth.

"We, Pakistan and India, must watch videos of the past to learn the artistry of field hockey which is extinct now," Khan said.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2004

[Tintin]

we beat Austria 6-0, Belgium 9-0, Denmark 5-0 and Switzerland 6-0 in the semi-finals to set up the title clash against Holland which we won 3-0,"

Good old days

[bdmoderator]

we beat Austria 6-0, Belgium 9-0, Denmark 5-0 and Switzerland 6-0 in the semi-finals to set up the title clash against Holland which we won 3-0,"

that was great.