ENZO COPPOLA
COMING out of high school, Iqbal Khan began a career in freelance journalism, which included covering sport for Capital Radio.
In January 1980, his journey into mainstream journalism full-time began when he first stepped into the offices of The Argus Group (now called Independent Newspapers).
In a period spanning 35 years until the day he retired at the age of 65 on April 9, 2015, Khan was indelibly intertwined into the daily lives of all those who followed his reporting.
He had a talent for finding a good story if there was one to be found, whether it was covering golf, cricket, soccer and rugby or other sports.
Along the way, he interviewed numerous high-profile sportsmen and administrators.
Among them were boxing Impresario Don King; champion boxer Larry Holmes; cricketers Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Imran Khan, Brian Lara, Barry Richards and Malcolm Marshall; rugby players Zinzan Brooke and Jeremy Guscott; golfers Gary Player, Thomas Bjorn, Tiger Woods, Darren Clarke, Ernie Els, Tom Watson and George O’Grady, who was the European Tour Commissioner.
Tennis players Mats Wilander and Henry Leconte also fell within Khan’s radar when he wrote features on them.
In the beginning, Khan was the designated boxing writer for the Argus Group. He covered several world title fights, including when Brian Mitchell defended his world junior-lightweight crown against Josée Rivera in Spain in April 1988.
For many years, Khan covered boxing in Durban, particularly the local darling of the sport, Brian Baronet.
Khan and the team of photographers who accompanied him documented virtually every move Baronet made. This was a purple patch for boxing in Durban. However, it all came to an end in a terribly sad way, when during an international fight with Kenny Vice, Baronet was knocked out in the 10th round. After collapsing, he fell into a coma. Baronet died three days later after being taking off life support.
The tragic event would rate as one of the saddest moments in Khan’s career.
Khan was proud of the fact that he was part of the “A team” at the Argus Group. The team comprised Michael Tarr, John Waters, Gary Lemke, Clyde Bawden and Hugh Crawford.
Khan covered the Dusi Canoe River Marathon from the Capital Radio helicopter and from land for a few years, witnessing epic battles involving Danny Biggs, Graeme Pope-Ellis and Tim Cornish, among others.
One abiding memory of the Dusi stood out for him – that was when a huge marquee that housed the media, sponsors and organisers on the banks of the uMgeni collapsed on all those who were inside it. Apparently, some locals had decided that the stakes and ropes that were holding up the huge tent could be put to better use elsewhere.
In hindsight, it turned out to be funny. Thankfully, no one was hurt during the ordeal.
When Comrades legends Alan Robb and Bruce Fordyce were doing their thing and dominating the sport, Khan was there every step of the way.
Khan was a talented cricketer in his own right; at Orient High School he was cricket captain and was also part of the soccer team, and as a young player, he turned out for Protea Cricket Club and later Kismet Cricket Club, so, naturally, this was one of his favourite sports to report on.
At school, he was affectionately known as “Oupa” Khan.
As a journalist, he experienced first-hand the transition from pre-apartheid to post-apartheid times in the sport. He recounted the time when during apartheid, no Indians were allowed to stay in the Orange Free State for longer than 24 hours at any given time.
Khan was the first Indian to cover cricket in South Africa. In the apartheid days, there were rebel tours by England, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Australia.
To cover cricket in the Orange Free State, by law, Khan was required to apply for a permit to stay longer than the prescribed 24 hours. However, he refused to ask for a permit as he did not agree with the law.
In the end, the authorities of the day gave in and allowed him to remain in the Free State for as long as he wanted. Given that there was one other Indian who had made the province his home – West Indies cricketer Alvin Kalicharran – in effect, Khan’s presence doubled the entire Indian population in the Orange Free State in one day.
His reporting of cricket spanned the time when Dr Ali Bacher and Krish Mackerdhuj were at loggerheads. However, the true statesmen eventually put aside their differences and with the help of others, formed the United Cricket Board of South Africa.
Khan respected Abdul Bhamjee, Graham Francois, Hassan Howa (who he revered as an amazing leader), Lefty Adams, Imraan Hendricks, Braemer Isaacs and many others of the South African Cricket Board.
Tributes for him have come in from the president of the KZN Cricket Union, Yunus Bobat, as well as Cassim Docrat. They commended Khan for his dedication to his craft and his ability to capture the essence of many iconic cricket moments, which had made him a revered voice in the cricketing world.
One of the main sports Khan “pounded the beat” on was soccer (football).
At a certain period, three football organisations – the Professional Soccer League (PSL), the Federation Professional League (FPL) and the breakaway National Professional Soccer League (NPSL).
Abdul Bhamjee, the colourful public relations officer for the National Soccer League, was in his pomp back then and he was a sponsor and journalist’s dream the way he marketed the organisation with his brightly coloured suits and shining jewellery.
Another administrator Khan admired was the Durban City chairperson Norman Elliott, whom he said “was a dream to work with”, as he always made himself available to give a comment, even when he was in a tight spot.
Khan covered football in the main but one could see that he had a soft spot for Durban City over the years.
He said that with Norman Elliott around, they were never short of a laugh. He recounted one incident when Khan attended the funeral of one of Elliott’s friends, Seaman Chetty. Apparently Elliott went too close to the hole and accidentally slipped into the grave, prompting friends to say that “Seaman is calling for some company”.
The tributes for Khanhave poured in from football legends such as Ficky Vally, Afzal Khan, Mark and Neil Tovey, Brummie De Leur, Wade du Plessis, Grant Croshaw, Paul Lafferty, Rodney Charles, Lyle Nesbitt, Mike Makaab, Grant McDade and John Louch.
Perhaps it is most fitting that the final tribute goes to the general manager of the highly successful Durban City team of the 1980s, Butch Webster:
“A special friend, a trusted reporter of both newspaper and radio.
“A family man. A man of integrity.
“We could trust him with breaking news stories, he was always a family friend both at our home and at the Durban City clubhouse.
“He will always be fondly remembered and very sadly missed, our sincere condolences to his family and friends. Rest in peace our friend.”
*The funeral was last Thursday at the Hilal Cemetery.
Coppola is a former Durban City player, football coach, administrator and commentator.