Pakistan Hockey player Seeks Heart Transplant in India

New Delhi, April 24: Pakistan's World Cup winning field hockey goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmed on Monday reached out to India for help in securing a heart transplant -- despite years of breaking his rivals' "hearts on the field".

The 49-year-old has been suffering for weeks from complications stemming from a pacemaker and stents implanted in his heart.

"I may have broken a lot of Indian hearts on the field of play by beating India in the Indira Gandhi Cup (1989) and in other events but that was sport," Ahmed told to media.

"Now I need a heart transplant in India and for that I need support from the Indian government." India-Pakistan ties, including sports and cultural contacts, plummeted after the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistani militant groups.

Ahmed has been a sporting icon in Pakistan since helping the country win the 1994 World Cup in Sydney with his penalty stroke push against the Netherlands in the final