Syed Mohammad Hadi

2021-05-28T21:04:34Z

2405:201:C008:499B:C8B3:A96D:895A:2B1A:

{{short description|Indian tennis player}}
{{refimprove|date=June 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2013}}

{{for2|the Indian sugarcane specialist|[[Saiyid Muhammad Hadi]]}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Syed Mohammed Hadi
| image = Hadi as Davis Cup c.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = S.M. Hadi as Davis Cup player (circa 1925)
| birth_name = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1899|08|12}}
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| alma_mater = [[Nizam College]] <br> [[Peterhouse]], [[Cambridge University]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|1971|07|14|1899|08|12}}
| death_place = [[Hyderabad]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], India
| nationality = [[India]]n
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| relatives = [[Syed Ali Akbar]] (brother) <br> [[Nawab Asman Jah Bahadur|Asman Jah]] (adoptive father)
(Son)-Syed safdar Hadi (grandson)syed Ahmed Hadi (great grandson) syed Hussain Hadi
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| module = {{Infobox cricketer | embed = yes
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| batting = [[Batting (cricket)|Right-handed]]
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| role = [[Batsman (cricket)|Batsman]]
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| columns = 1

| column1 = [[First-class cricket|FC]]
| matches1 = 24
| runs1 = 1,043
| bat avg1 = 32.59
| 100s/50s1 =
| top score1 = 132*
| deliveries1 = -
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| catches/stumpings1 = 9/0

| source = [http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/player/29311.html ESPN Cricinfo]
| date = September 27
| year = 2018
}}
}}
'''Syed Mohammad (S.M.) Hadi''' (12 August 1899 – 14 July 1971) was one of the most gifted pioneering athletes of India. He not only represented India in [[cricket]] and [[tennis]], but was also proficient in [[field hockey]], [[soccer]], [[table tennis]], [[chess]], and [[polo]]. He was nicknamed "Rainbow Hadi" because of his expertise in these seven sports.

==Early years==
Hadi's father, Captain Syed Mohammed, was an officer in the [[Paigah family|Paigah]] army in [[Hyderabad State]] and died when Hadi was barely two years old. He was supported by the family of, [[Sir Asman Jah]], the former Prime Minister of Hyderabad State, in the court of the [[Nizam of Hyderabad]]. He was raised alongside, Asman Jah's son [[Nawab]] Moin-Ud-Dowlah, who would become a leading patron of sports in Hyderabad.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/syed-mohammad-rainbow-hadi-first-man-to-score-a-ranji-trophy-hundred-459563|title=Syed Mohammad 'Rainbow' Hadi: First man to score a Ranji Trophy hundred|last=Dhole|first=Pradip|date=2016-06-14|work=Cricket Country|access-date=2018-09-27|language=en-us}}</ref>

Hadi learned [[horse riding]] and [[polo]] as a youth and played soccer for [[Nizam College]]. Recognizing their ward's exceptional athletic abilities, Asman Jah's family helped arrange for his studies in [[England]].

==Tennis career ==
As a tennis player Hadi burst on to the international scene while studying at [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]] where he studied at [[Peterhouse]] and worked hard to become a [[Cambridge Blue]]. He helped the Cambridge team score a series of victories against [[Oxford University]] and visiting American teams. He also earned university colours in field hockey, soccer, and table tennis.

Denied the captaincy of the Cambridge team because he was an Indian, he vindicated his claim by representing India at the [[Davis Cup]] in 1924 and 1925. He also represented India at [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]] for five years and in 1926 reached the quarterfinals in doubles. He was one of the first Indians to compete as a tennis player at the [[Olympic Games|Olympics]] ([[1924 Summer Olympics]]).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200418113904/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ha/s-m-hadi-1.html S M Hadi at Sports Reference]</ref>

== Cricketer ==
As a cricketer he played several [[first-class cricket]] matches for Hyderabad. When the [[Ranji Trophy]] was instituted in 1934, Hadi became the first batsman to score a [[century (cricket)|century]]. He was also on the Indian team in 1936 when they played an "unofficial Test match" against the Australians led by [[Jack Ryder (cricketer)|Jack Ryder]]. He continued to play for the Hyderabad XI in the Ranji Trophy till 1941. Many of his siblings were also accomplished sportsmen. His brothers Hussein Mohammad and Ashgar Ali were first class cricketers.

==Sports and public service ==
In 1939-40 Hadi along with his brother Col. Ali Raza, Nawab Mahmood Yar Jung, [[Syed Abdul Rahim|S.A. Rahim]] and Ahmed Mohiuddin was one of the founding members of the [[Hyderabad Football Association]] and the [[Hyderabad Cricket Association]]. After retiring from athletics, Hadi continued his involvement in sports as an educator. He had an [[Master's degree#MAs in Oxford.2C Cambridge and Dublin|MA]] from Cambridge and a Masters from the [[University of Pennsylvania]]. Hadi was the Director of Physical Education in Hyderabad and ultimately became Joint Secretary of Education in the Indian Government. Another brother [[Syed Ali Akbar]] was also a prominent educator of Hyderabad. Hadi was an avid supporter of the [[Scout Movement]] and received the [[Wood Badge]]. He was the National Commissioner of the [[Bharat Scouts and Guides|Boy Scouts of India]].

When the All-India Council of Sports was formed in 1959 he became its first secretary.

== Legacy ==
Hadi died in his native Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, of lung cancer at the age of 72. In an obituary published on 3 September 1971 the [[Indian Express]] wrote - "It is but given to a few and seldom to shine in so many sports." The man who adopted him, Nawab Moin-Ud-Dowlah, was also a great patron of cricket in India. The [[Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup Tournament|Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup Cricket Tournament]] is played to this day. The tournament's runner-up trophy is now called the S.M. Hadi Memorial Trophy.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://content.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/29311.html Cricket Record of S.M. Hadi]
*{{DavisCup player}}
*{{ITF male profile|10003593}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadi Mohammad Syed}}
[[Category:1899 births]]
[[Category:1971 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Hyderabad cricketers]]
[[Category:Indian expatriates in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Indian expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:Hyderabad State people]]
[[Category:Indian male tennis players]]
[[Category:Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:Indian people of Arab descent]]
[[Category:Tamil Nadu cricketers]]
[[Category:University of Pennsylvania alumni]]
[[Category:Field hockey players from Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Cricketers from Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Indian male field hockey players]]
[[Category:Olympic tennis players of India]]
[[Category:Tennis players at the 1924 Summer Olympics]]

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Syed Mohammad Hadi