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Shahida Raza

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Shahida Raza (Template:Lang-ur; 1990s – 26 February 2023) was a Pakistani field hockey and football player known as "Chintu" by her teammates. She captained the national team in hockey, and had also represented Pakistan in football and martial arts. She died when a migrant boat sank off the coast of Italy on 26 February 2023.

Early life and career

Raza, known by the nickname Chintu, was from the mountainous region of Quetta. She began her career in field hockey in 2007, and played on teams sponsored by the Army, the Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA),[1][2] and Pakistan Railways.[3] She played for Pakistan in the 2009 Asian Hockey Federation U-18 Girls' Cup, and at senior level in the 2012 Asian Hockey Federation Cup.[4][5][6] A half-back,[2] she was captain of the national team.[7][8] Domestically, she was on the WAPDA team that reached the finals of the 2012 Pakistan Hockey Federation U-21 Girls Cup.[4]

Raza also played for Pakistan in football;[9] domestically, she played for Balochistan United W.F.C., with whom as of November 2013 she had reached eight national championship finals.[6][10]

She also competed nationally and internationally as a professional kickboxer and in wushu.[6] In wushu she represented Pakistan at the 2016 3-Nations International Wushu Championship in Lahore, where she won gold, the 2016 West Asia Wushu Championship, where she won bronze, the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games, where she won bronze, and the 2019 South Asian Games, where she won silver.[11]

Her sponsorships were terminated in the 2020s, during a severe economic crisis, leaving her jobless.[1]

Personal life and death

Raza was a member of the Hazara Shi'ite minority in Pakistan.[1][2][12] Her son was partially paralysed by a stroke in infancy,[12] after which her husband divorced her and she became a single mother.[1][5][13] According to her family and a teammate, when her son was three, she travelled via Iran and Turkey seeking asylum in order to obtain medical treatment and a better future for him.[1][9][12]

On February 26, 2023, four months after leaving Pakistan, Raza died in a boat accident off the southern coast of Italy, with at least 58 other migrants, including at least one other Pakistani.[1][2][4][12][13] According to different sources, she was either 27[1][12] or 29[9] years old.

Reactions

The Pakistan Hockey Federation expressed their condolences to Raza's family after her death was confirmed. The Chief Minister of Balochistan also paid tribute to her.[3][4] The Italian Hockey Federation also expressed their condolences.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Gul Yousafzai (2 March 2023). "Pakistan ex-hockey player's dreams of better life shatter in Italy shipwreck". Reuters.com. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Pakistan mourns death of star athlete in shipwreck off Italy". Aljazeera. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b Zubair Nazir Khan (28 February 2023). "Hockey player Shahida among victims of migrant boat tragedy". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Imran Siddique (1 March 2023). "Former hockey player Shahida Raza among dead in Italian shipwreck tragedy". Dawn. APP. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Pakistan female hockey player among victims of Italy boat accident". Geo TV. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Hazara hockey player among migrants who died in shipwreck off the Italian coast". Asia News. Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Shahida Raza morta nel naufragio di Crotone: era capitana del Pakistan di hockey e perseguitata nel suo Paese" [Shahida Raza dead in the Crotone shipwreck: was captain of Pakistan hockey and persecuted in her country]. Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 1 March 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  8. ^ a b "L'hockey italiano piange la scomparsa di Shahida Raza" [Italian hockey mourns the passing of Shahida Raza]. Hockey Italia 21 (in Italian). 1 March 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Fazal Tawab (4 March 2023). "Athlete dead in shipwreck left Pakistan to help disabled son". Associated Press. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  10. ^ Myra Khan (24 November 2013). "Fair game: Female footballers". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  11. ^ Quetta Liteary Festival [@QuettaLF] (21 June 2022). "Thread" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 February 2024 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ a b c d e Caroline Davies (2 March 2023). "The Pakistani hockey player who died in Italy shipwreck". BBC News. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Pakistan hockey player Shahida Raza drowns in Italy boat accident". The News International. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
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