SPORTS REPORTER

Zaki Ahmed Ripon, a prominent figure in Bangladesh hockey as both a player and administrator, died of cardiac arrest yesterday. He was 63.

He fell ill with chest pain in the early hours and was taken to a city hospital, where he later passed away. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and numerous well-wishers.

Ripon, who represented Abahani during the 1980s, remained closely associated with the club long after his playing days and was serving as secretary of its hockey committee at the time of his death. He also held senior roles within the sport’s administration, including vice-president and joint secretary of the Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF), and was an executive member of the Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA).

His namaz-e-janaza was held at Dhanmondi’s Modhubagh Mosque and at the Abahani Club premises before burial at Rayerbazar graveyard.

Tributes were paid by the BHF, the BOA, Mohammedan SC and other sporting bodies, who expressed their condolences to his family.