Pratap Shankar Hazra

Pratap was born on 3 April 1943 in Sreenagar Upazila of Munshiganj District in Bengal, British India, the son of Priyo Shankar and Annapurna Hazra. He spent most of his childhood living in Armanitola, Dacca. He passed matriculation from Armanitola High School in 1960 and gained admission to Jagannath College. Pratap passed his higher secondary in 1964 and was admitted to Dacca University, where he majored in Bachelor of Arts.{{Cite web|date=2013-03-07|title=কাগুজে জমিদার প্রতাপ শঙ্কর|url=https://www.banglanews24.com/cat/news/bd/179838.details|access-date=2024-06-02|website=Bangla News24|language=bn|archive-date= 2024-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240602180646/https://www.banglanews24.com/cat/news/bd/179838.details|url-status=live}}

Pratap began playing inter-college football in 1961, representing Jagannath College, and eventually joined Victoria SC in the Dhaka First Division League in the same year. In his second year at the club, he won the league title along with the Aga Khan Gold Cup, Independence Day Cup, and Mohammad Ali Bogra Shield.{{Cite web |title=Pakistan Observer 1970.06.08 — South Asian Newspapers |url=https://gpa.eastview.com/crl/san/?a=d&d=paob19700608-01.1.8 |access-date=2025-06-09 |website=gpa.eastview.com}} Nonetheless, he rarely entered the pitch in a Victoria team dominated by Makrani players from the Pakistan national team.

In 1963, Pratap joined Mohammedan SC, where he served until his retirement in 1977. Playing as a left-winger, Pratap won the Dhaka League six times, the Aga Khan Gold Cup and Independence Day Cup twice, and the Mohammad Ali Bogra Shield once. He notably scored from a direct corner against Karachi Port Trust in the 1964 Aga Khan Gold Cup final, as both teams shared the trophy after a 1–1 draw. He was also part of the Mohammedan team that were unbeaten league champions in 1969, with his attacking partnership with Ali Nawaz Baloch, Abdullah Rahi and Golam Sarwar Tipu being integral to their success that season.{{Cite web|date=2022-04-06|title=প্রতাপ হাজরাকে কাঁদায় সোনালি স্মৃতি|url=https://www.dailyjanakantha.com/sports/news/641819|access-date=2024-06-02|website=Daily Janakantha|language=bn|archive-date= 2024-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240602180715/https://www.dailyjanakantha.com/sports/news/641819|url-status=live}}

Pratap also participated in the Dhaka First Division Hockey League, starting his career with Wari Club in 1957. He founded Combined Sporting Club in Old Dhaka in 1963, after spending three years at both Wari and Victoria SC.{{Cite news |last=Hoque |first=Shishir |date=26 March 2024 |title=The night Hazra's Old Dhaka house burnt into ashes |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/sport/football/342699/the-night-hazra%E2%80%99s-old-dhaka-house-burnt-into-ashes |access-date=2024-05-31 |work=Dhaka Tribune|archive-date= 2024-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240602180842/https://www.dhakatribune.com/sport/football/342699/the-night-hazra%E2%80%99s-old-dhaka-house-burnt-into-ashes|url-status=live}} He served both as an organizer and a player at the club, and helped them win the First Division League three times while also clinching a runner-up position in the Atiqullah Cup. He represented the club until the Independence of Bangladesh, after which, he served both Mohammedan and Dhaka Abahani, winning the league title twice at each club. He was also Mohammedan's player-cum-coach during its 1982 league triumph.{{cite web|url=https://britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0003221/19630125/224/0015?browse=true|access-date=28 June 2024|title=Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Friday 25 January 1963|page=15|via=British Newspaper Archive}}

In the National Football Championship, Pratap became a champion with Dhaka Division in 1962. He represented the Dacca Division junior team in the National Youth Football Championship in 1963, and the following year, he played for Dacca District in the inter-district football championship. In 1963, Pratap represented East Pakistan in an exhibition match against the China national team. His team suffered a 1–11 defeat.

In 1963, when Bundesliga club Fortuna Düsseldorf toured Pakistan for exhibition matches, Pratap played against them as part of the East Pakistan Sports Board XI in Dacca. The team was led by Pakistan national team captain Qayyum Changezi.{{Cite web |last=Ahsan |first=Ali |date=2010-12-23 |title=A history of football in Pakistan — Part II |url=https://www.dawn.com/2010/12/23/a-history-of-football-in-pakistan-part-ii/ |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en |archive-date= 2012-10-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028051502/http://dawn.com/2010/12/23/a-history-of-football-in-pakistan-part-ii/|url-status=live }}

Pratap also won the inter-university football championship with Dacca University in both 1966 and 1968. Additionally, he represented Dacca Division in the 1968 National Championship held in Jessore. In the 1969 edition of the National Championship, he represented East Zone winners, East Pakistan Combined University, in the main tournament held in Lahore. In the same year, he featured in an exhibition match for East Pakistan XI against Yangzee FC from South Korea.

File:Pakistan national football team, 1964.jpg

In 1964, he made his Pakistan national team debut, featuring in three exhibition games against Neftyanik from Baku, Soviet Union.{{cite book |last=Mahmud |first=Dulal |script-title=bn:পাকিস্তান জাতীয় দল বাঙালি খেলোয়াড় ({{Translation|Bengali players in the Pakistan national team}}) |publisher=Bishhoshahitto Bhobon |year=2014 |language=bn}} Other East Pakistani players in the team included Zahirul Haque and Balai Dey.{{Cite web|url=http://m.u71news.com/article/57359/index.html|title=বাঙালির ফুটবল-সাফল্য এখন কেবলই স্মৃতি|language=bn|website=U71news|access-date=13 February 2023|archive-date=6 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406083259/http://m.u71news.com/article/57359/index.html|url-status=live}} On 28 February 1965, he represented Pakistan against Ceylon in an exhibition match held in Colombo, which ended in a 1–3 defeat. That same year, he was appointed vice-captain of the Pakistan Youth Team during their tour of the Soviet Union.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bd-pratidin.com/sport-news/2017/04/17/223828|title=আলো ছড়ানো তারকারা|work=Bangladesh Pratidin|date=2017-04-17|access-date=2023-02-06|archive-date=2023-02-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206154919/https://www.bd-pratidin.com/sport-news/2017/04/17/223828|url-status=live}} During the 1965 RCD Cup, he provided an assist to fellow left inside forward Mohammad Saleem to score the consolation goal for Pakistan in a 1–3 defeat against Turkey.Tercüman Newspaper, 22.07.1965, p. 8 Pratap was also included in the national team for the 1967 RCD Cup held in Dacca, East Pakistan. During the tournament, Pakistan suffered 2–0 and 7–4 defeats at the hands of Iran and Turkey, respectively. His final contribution to the Pakistan national team came during four exhibition games against Saudi Arabia, where he replaced Ayub Dar in the starting eleven.

During the Bangladesh Liberation War, the Pakistan Army burned down Pratap's house in Armanitola on the night of 26 March 1971 because he and his family were Hindus. Pratap's family, fled their one-story house and sought refuge in the graveyard of a nearby Armenian Church to save their lives. As a player for Combined Sporting Club, a now-defunct club in Old Dhaka, two of Pratap’s teammates took him to their house in Dhanmondi, where they stayed for two days before crossing the Buriganga River to find shelter in Jinjira. They eventually moved to their village in Sreenagar, Munshiganj, where they stayed for a month.

Later, he fled to Kolkata to join the Mukti Bahini under Hafizuddin Ahmed but was told he wasn't eligible for service by Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury. While in Kolkata, he met Ali Imam, another Dhaka First Division footballer. In June 1971, Shamsul Haque Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi politician, requested footballers to form a national team on behalf of the Bangladeshi government in exile.{{Cite web |date=2018-01-03 |language=bn |title=ভিন্ন স্মৃতি ভিন্ন দৃষ্টিভঙ্গি |url=https://www.kalerkantho.com/print-edition/sports/2018/01/03/584975 |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=Kaler Kantho|archive-date= 2024-06-02|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240602181215/https://www.kalerkantho.com/print-edition/sports/2018/01/03/584975|url-status=live}} Pratap and Imam traveled to Agartala to gather players for the Shadhin Bangla football team. The team aimed to convince Indian Muslims, who believed the trouble was caused by Hindu infiltrators, to support the liberation of Bangladesh.

Initially, the team going by Joy Bangla XI played an exhibition game against Tripura XI on 2 July 1971 in Tripura. The Shadhin Bangla team played their first official match on 25 July 1971 against Nadia XI in Nadia district, with Pratap serving as vice-captain under captain Zakaria Pintoo, based on seniority.{{Cite news |url=https://www.prothomalo.com/sports/football/5z53gudej7 |script-title=bn:৫১ বছর আগে স্বাধীন বাংলা ফুটবল দলের যে গৌরবময় ইতিহাসের শুরু নদীয়া থেকে |first=Masud |last=Alam |work=Prothom Alo |language=bn |access-date=29 September 2022 |archive-date=29 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929100736/https://www.prothomalo.com/sports/football/5z53gudej7 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last=Ali |first=Inqiad Bin |date=2023-03-30 |title=The history of Shadhin Bangla Football Team |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/shout/news/the-history-shadhin-bangla-football-team-3283816 |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=The Daily Star |language=en|archive-date= 2024-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240602181238/https://www.thedailystar.net/shout/news/the-history-shadhin-bangla-football-team-3283816|url-status=live}}

In 1972, Pratap represented Dhaka XI (the unofficial Bangladesh national football team) at the Bordoloi Trophy in Guwahati, India. His team finished as runners-up, losing 1–5 to East Bengal Club in the final.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dhakapost.com/sports/football/211015|title=ফুটবলের ৫০ বছর : প্রথম দলের ১৭ জনের কে কোথায়?|first=Arafat|last=Zubaear|website=dhakapost.com|access-date=26 July 2023|archive-date=26 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230726164059/https://www.dhakapost.com/sports/football/211015|language=bn|url-status=live}} The following year, coach Sheikh Shaheb Ali included Pratap in the first official Bangladesh national team. Similar to his role in the Shadhin Bangla football team, Pratap was made vice-captain, while Zakaria Pintoo captained the team for the 1973 Merdeka Cup. Pratap made his debut on 27 July 1973, in a 2–2 draw against Thailand.{{Cite web|url=http://kironsportsdesk.com/?p=4903|title=১৯৭৩ সালে যাদের হাত ধরে বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় ফুটবল দলের পথ চলা শুরু হয়েছিলো|language=bn|website=Kiron's Sports Desk|access-date=13 February 2023|archive-date=13 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213074614/http://kironsportsdesk.com/?p=4903|url-status=live}} He played 70 minutes in his debut before being substituted for AKM Nowsheruzzaman.{{Cite web|title=Page 19, Daily News, 28 July 1973|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/page/beritaharian19730728-1.1.9|language=Malay|access-date=2024-05-26|website=eresources.nlb.gov.sg|archive-date=2024-05-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526083416/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/page/beritaharian19730728-1.1.9|url-status=live}}

Pratap represented the East Pakistan hockey team in the Pakistan National Hockey Championship from 1961 to 1970. He was called up to the Pakistan national field hockey team training camp in both 1965 and 1968.{{Cite web |title=মোহামেডানের সুদিন দেখার অপেক্ষায়|url=https://www.kalerkantho.com/print-edition/sports/2021/04/03/1020143|language=ban|date=2021-04-03|access-date=2024-06-02|website=Kaler Kantho|archive-date= 2024-06-02|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240602181429/https://www.kalerkantho.com/print-edition/sports/2021/04/03/1020143|url-status=live}} He featured for East Pakistan in numerous exhibition matches against teams like Japan and New Zealand. In a match against Malaysia, he contributed to a 2–1 victory.

In 1970, he represented East Pakistan in an exhibition match against the Pakistan national team, which had won gold at the 1970 Asian Games. Pratap played in his usual inside-left position, but East Pakistan suffered a 0–1 defeat in that game.{{Cite web |title=প্রতিরোধের সেই দুই ম্যাচ|url=https://www.channelionline.com/%e0%a6%aa%e0%a7%8d%e0%a6%b0%e0%a6%a4%e0%a6%bf%e0%a6%b0%e0%a7%8b%e0%a6%a7%e0%a7%87%e0%a6%b0-%e0%a6%b8%e0%a7%87%e0%a6%87-%e0%a6%a6%e0%a7%81%e0%a6%87-%e0%a6%ae%e0%a7%8d%e0%a6%af%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%9a/|language=ban|date=2017-10-09|access-date=2024-06-02|website=channelionline.com|archive-date=2024-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240602181251/https://www.channelionline.com/%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8B%E0%A6%A7%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%87-%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%87-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%9A/|url-status=live}}

Pratap's only appearance for the Bangladesh national field hockey team came against the visiting Sri Lanka national field hockey team in 1978.

Pratap coached the Mohammedan SC field hockey team from 1982 to 1984 and again from 1989 to 1997, during which he won the First Division Hockey League five times. He was appointed coach of Bangladesh's junior hockey team for the 1984 IIHF Asian Oceanic Junior U18 Championship qualifiers. Pratap also coached the Bangladesh national field hockey team, which won bronze at the 1995 South Asian Games held in Madras, India.{{Cite web |title=Mohammedan seek Papon's intervention in hockey|url=https://www.thedailystar.net/sports/more-sports/news/mohammedan-seek-papons-intervention-hockey-3591976|language=en|date=2024-04-21|access-date=2024-06-02|website=The Daily Star|archive-date= 2024-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240602180526/https://www.thedailystar.net/sports/more-sports/news/mohammedan-seek-papons-intervention-hockey-3591976|url-status=live}} In 1996, he coached the junior team at the Men's Hockey Junior Asia Cup in Singapore, where Bangladesh finished sixth. In the same year, he was named Coach of the year by the Bangladesh Hockey Federation.

In 1987, Pratap served as the head football coach of Mohammedan SC and led the club to the Federation Cup title, defeating arch-rivals Dhaka Wanderers 1–0 in the final. His role was taken over by Nasser Hejazi before the start of the Dhaka League. Prior to that, he coached East End Club in 1981 when the club was relegated to the Second Division. Nonetheless, he remained in the post the following season.

Victoria SC

• Dhaka First Division League: 1962
• Aga Khan Gold Cup: 1962
• Independence Day Cup: 1962
• Mohammad Ali Bogra Shield: 1962

Mohammedan

• Dhaka First Division League: 1963, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1975, 1976
• Aga Khan Gold Cup: 1964*, 1968
• Independence Day Cup: 1963, 1966
• Mohammad Ali Bogra Shield: 1966

Dhaka Division

• National Football Championship: 1962

Mohammedan SC

• Federation Cup: 1987

Dhaka Abahani

• First Division Hockey League: 1975, 1976

Mohammedan SC

• First Division Hockey League: 1979, 1980

Mohammedan SC

• First Division Hockey League: 1982, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1997

• 2001 − National Sports Award{{Cite web|url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/2003/07/21/d30721041342.htm|title=Sports awards distributed|work=The Daily Star|date=2003-07-21|access-date=2018-09-07|archive-date=2018-09-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908054241/http://archive.thedailystar.net/2003/07/21/d30721041342.htm|url-status=live}}
• 2018 − Rupchada Prothom Alo Award 2018{{Cite web|url=https://en.prothomalo.com/sports/Shakib-wins-Rupchanda-Prothom-Alo-Sports-Award|title=Shakib wins Rupchanda-Prothom Alo Sports Award|work=Prothom Alo|date=2018-05-28|access-date=2024-06-02|archive-date= 2024-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240602181804/https://en.prothomalo.com/sports/Shakib-wins-Rupchanda-Prothom-Alo-Sports-Award|url-status=live}}

• List of association footballers who have been capped for two senior national teams

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |last=Mahmud |first=Dulal |script-title=bn: খেলার মাঠে মুক্তিযুদ্ধ ({{Translation|Liberation war in the playground}}) |publisher=Bishhoshahitto Bhobon |year=2020 |isbn=978-984-8218-31-0 |language=bn}}
• {{cite book |last=Mahmud |first=Dulal |script-title=bn:পাকিস্তান জাতীয় দল বাঙালি খেলোয়াড় ({{Translation|Bengali players in the Pakistan national team}}) |publisher=Bishhoshahitto Bhobon |year=2014 |language=bn}}
• {{cite book |last=Alam |first=Masud |script-title=bn:ফুটবলের গল্প ফুটবলারদের গল্প ({{Translation|The story of football the story of footballers}}) |publisher=Bishhoshahitto Bhobon |year=2017 |language=bn |isbn=9789849134688}}
• {{cite book |last=Mahmud |first=Noman |script-title=bn:ফুটবল পায়ে মুক্তির যুদ্ধ ({{Translation|Liberation war fought by football}}) |publisher=Agamee Prakashani |year=2018 |language=bn |isbn=978-984-8218-31-0}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazra, Pratap Shankar}}

Category:1943 births

Category:Living people

Category:Victoria Sporting Club players

Category:Mohammedan SC (Dhaka) players

Category:Bangladesh men's international footballers

Category:Bangladeshi men's footballers

Category:Bangladeshi football managers

Category:Recipients of the Bangladesh National Sports Award

Category:20th-century Bangladeshi sportsmen

Category:Pakistan men's international footballers

Category:Pakistan men's youth international footballers

Category:Bangladeshi expatriate sportspeople in India

Category:Bangladeshi male field hockey players

Category:Field hockey coaches

Category:People from Munshiganj District

Category:Sportspeople from Dhaka Division

Category:Bangladeshi Hindus

Category:University of Dhaka alumni

Category:Jagannath University alumni

Category:Dual internationalists (men's football)

Category:Men's association football wingers

Category:20th-century Pakistani sportsmen