Dr Muhammad Monis, senior hockey coach of Jamia Millia Islamia, has trained many students and helped build the university hockey team, with several players going on to represent India.
He has coached Jamia players over the years, contributing to the team’s position in university hockey. Beyond Jamia, he served as coach of the Indian six-a-side hockey team, which represented the country at the Penang Six-a-Side Hockey Tournament under the Six-a-side Hockey Federation of India. His work supported the team in matches against international opponents.
As chief coach of the Air India Hockey Team, he led the team to victory in the Junior National Hockey Championship. Colleagues who have worked with him said he is both a strategist and a team leader. He has also served as chief coach of the Indian Universities Hockey Team and the Delhi Hockey Team, which competed in national events including the Khelo India Youth Games.
Dr Monis, an alumnus of Jamia, also served as assistant coach of the Indian women’s netball team, which represented the country at the Three Nations Netball Tournament in Colombo.
Under his guidance, the Jamia hockey team has recorded results in national and international competitions. The team has won the North Zone Inter-University Hockey Championship six times and finished runner-up three times. It has also finished runner-up twice in the All India Six-a-Side Inter-University Championship. In the All India Inter-University Hockey Championship, the team has won once, finished runner-up once and placed third three times.
More than twenty Jamia players have represented India in events such as the Olympics, World Cup, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Junior World Cup, including five who have captained the national team. These include Gagan Ajit Singh, Divesh Singh Chauhan, Prabhjot Singh, Danish Mujtaba and Tushar Khandekar.
These players include:
Gagan Ajit Singh – Olympian and Arjuna Awardee
Divesh Singh Chauhan – Olympian and Arjuna Awardee
Prabhjot Singh – Olympian and Arjuna Awardee
Danish Mujtaba – Olympian
Tushar Khandekar – Olympian
More than thirty Jamia players have represented the Indian Universities Hockey Team, and over 120 players trained by him have represented state and departmental teams.
The Jamia team also toured Sri Lanka, winning eight of nine matches, and later represented India in a six-a-side hockey tournament in Singapore.
Over a career spanning three decades, Dr Monis has coached teams and trained players, contributing to the university’s hockey programme.
