Published on May 14 2009 by Team NM

 

Training programmes were being designed to fine tune those last minute preparations. Qaid Sahib, to get a feel of the venue, had embarked on a journey, a few days of gruelling training sessions with his personal tutor Usman Chaudhary. Usman refusing to go lightly on him, beating him 15-0 in one match; an unparalleled score line. A score line which sent reverberations throughout the Qiadat.

Match Day, The 5Ps ringing in all competitors ears: Perfect Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. Ipod’s with motivational, inspirational music were dotted around the room. The time for talk was over, the players had arrived; All bar one. Haaris we were told was in the shower, two hours later he strolled in, two hours of last ditch prep, two hours of last minute practice. But let us remind Haaris of the ever lasting fable of a boy who left his preparation until the last minute, and therefore didn’t do very well. A very famous fable. One all students should heed. One they should contemplate. Students don’t leave revision till the last minute. Qaid Sahib said so. I digress.

The tournament began; the tension tangible. The tournament was progressing nicely, Qaid Sahib Vs Naib Qaid Sb: Muzaffer Chaudhary, played in a contest more akin to Hull vs Stoke. Shouts of ‘Too much practice, not enough prayers’ echoed through the gangways as Qaid Sahib struggled to put together a couple of passes despite the intense training programme he had completed. Constantly stopping to rearrange his tactics and formations were again met with jeers and derision as Qaid Sahib was reminded of the futility of tactics. And then Haaris faced Farooq. A match where Farooq showed himself to be a great exponent of real matchplay Pro Evo. To use the word cynical would be inaccurate. For this was professionalism at its finest. Willing to accept the need to commit fouls, willing to accept the yellow cards, willing to accept countless red cards; yet tellingly so unwilling to concede the goal that Haaris so craved. Seven manned Farooq taunted Haaris with sporadic glee in reminding him and us all that he indeed “was very much a FIFA man”. This as Haaris remonstrated with officials. Footage and evidence will be forwarded to UEFA to discuss further repercussions. Farooq had done what he set out to do. And then Humza faced Riz. For two big seeds to meet this early in the tournament was surprising to most and caused much stir amongst contestants, all bar Usman - the organiser and creater of the draw - who sat silently, smiling to himself in the corner. The match was what most expected. A tight affair where one goal would win it. Humza’s nine men heroics were not to be enough and he was dumped out in penalties by a well organised, well knit Riz unit. And with that, crestfallen and a tear in his eye, he took his seat next to Waqaas with the sole purpose of annoying those still in the tournament. Usman by this time bored of being Chelsea decided that teams would at this stage be randomly picked again and oh so luckily plucked Barca from 200 teams. Whilst others stared in shock and disbelief, Usman again simply silently smiled, shrugged his shoulders and took his seat with the air of a man who knew about that which had just happened for a few days. Adil was duly brushed aside by Usman to silent his “Usman is a terrible player” chat, “easily the worst player when we have our sessions”. Silenced! And with that the final was set up. Usman versus Riz. The inaugural final of this prestigious tournament. The tension palpable. Big players for big matches. Who would thrive under the pressure, under the spotlight? Who would take home the silverware? Or most importantly that intangible but most important of prizes in New Malden – Bragging Rights. And under these conditions there could only be one winner. Usman was rolled over by the consummate professional Riz. His inexperience, immaturity at this stage was all of a sudden clear, and stark. But he will be back, stronger and tougher as a result. The tournament had all of a sudden become real for him, and with that he was plainly unable to cope. And like a true predator, Riz put him away clinically.

With Qaid Sahib purchasing chicken and chips, from our local Ahmadi chicken shop; no one went hungry. A menu, with which many were pleased, apart from Adil, the true Pro Evo Professional, who has clearly taken on the message from the continent and brought along his healthy packed lunch. A big thanks to Waqas who attended with absolutely no intention of playing Pro Evo. His sole aim was clearly to distract those playing and create rivalries between individuals whom without his stirring would probably be best friends. A huge performance.

The event was to be rightfully closed with Congregational, ‘Zuhr & Asr’ prayers in Usman’s room; a room more than large enough and possibly an excellent alternative for our General Meetings. Ablutions performed, lines created for Namaz. Qaid Sahib, as expected; came prepared with a prayer cap. Whereas, the others had to seek out what was available from the treasure chest of hats; collected by the Chaudhary’s in their travels. Unfortunately, Haaris drew the short straw; being lumbered with a panama hat.  Lastly, Rizwan and Tamoor both left with Cotton hats, picked up from Peru. Important lessons were learnt, above all, many of us should take a leaf out of Qaid Sahib's book and look to keep our prayer cap with us at all times.

Thanks to all involved especially to the Chaudhary’s for hosting the event, organising the event, and putting up with all the added tender ribbing.

Moving away from the banter of this piece, we can reflect upon the outcome of our event. Did it meet our noble objective of elevating the sprit of brotherhood? Has it raised the solidarity amongst us? The answers to these questions are all positive; all praise belongs to Allah. The event has clearly proved to be extremely successful; gaged from the coming together of old and young, the affectionate ribbing as mentioned above and most importantly the realisation, that our gathering today, was a consequence; of us having accepted the Promised Messiah (as) as the ‘Divine Refomer’ of the contemporary world, Alhamdulillahi.

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