As the clock ticked into the fifth minute of injury time in Saturday's Mayo Junior B hurling final with Castlebar and Caiseal Gaels level, Abdullah Abbasi deftly lifted the sliotar into his left hand. A pair of defenders converged on him and did their best to bring him down but Abbasi shrugged them off like a rhino would two hyenas.
"I was just hoping my shorts wouldn't come off!" Abbasi tells Balls.
"I think the back made a mistake and tried to kick it back to his teammate. I just caught the ball on the hop and flicked it up, put it in the back of the net."
Abbasi started the 13-a-side game on the half-forward line and spent some time at centre-back before moving to the more familiar station of full-forward for the closing minutes. When you've got a bull, put him in the China shop.
"John Waldron, one of our selectors, very fondly says, 'Abbi, when that ball is in your hand, it is not coming out'," says Abbasi, who scored 1-6 and was named Man of the Match.
"It was a game that was neck and neck throughout. At no stage, thank God, did we put the heads down or say it might not go our way. For that, I've a lot of respect for my teammates.
"It was a good feeling. Commiserations to Caiseal Gaels, we've been in their position. We were in the county senior final in 2019. We lost that by a point [to Tooreen]. I was on the panel but I wasn't playing that day."
@CBarMitchelsHC Abduilah Abbasi smashes to the net, in the Mayo GAA Junior B hurling championship final. pic.twitter.com/kTFSyjpZAZ
— Mayo GAA (@MayoGAA) August 29, 2023
The 28-year-old was born in Pakistan and moved to Ireland aged five when his father, a psychiatrist, took up a position at Mayo General Hospital. Though he has lived elsewhere, Castlebar has always been home.
"I started playing hurling with Castlebar when I was eight," he says.
"From a young age, I always loved playing cricket. My dad said if I had nothing else, clothes or no clothes, I had the bat and ball. I suppose my grá grew for hurling through that as well.
"I played football, played soccer as well, but hurling was the one that I stuck to out of all of them. I played a bit of Gaelic football. I had to, sure! I played a lot of Gaelic football in school but never really at club level. Even when football games were on, you'd bring a hurl down. That'd be like somebody bringing a football to a Kilkenny match."
Abbasi was part of the Mayo panel which won the All-Ireland Minor C Hurling Championship title in 2013, and the U21 team which lost the 2016 All-Ireland B final to Meath. He also won a Freshers B title while studying at GMIT.
Abdullah Abbasi of Castlebar Mitchels Hurling Club in possession during the 2023 Connacht Gold Mayo Junior B Hurling Championship final against Caiseal Gaels. Picture credit: Mayo GAA
The Castlebar side which won Sunday's final was populated by players young and old. Abbasi knew them all. Growing up, he'd idolised the older players, some of whom were coaxed out of retirement for this year's Junior B campaign, while he'd coached many of the younger ones.
"I ran the summer camp 'Hurling on the Green'," he says.
"Every summer, Castlebar run a hurling camp. This goes on for two months. Kids from ages five to 11 or 12 can attend. We make hurling as fun as possible.
"Between schools, Hurling on the Green, and the club, that's where I found my love for it. To be able to give that back is a nice feeling. The whole hurling club, it teaches you a lot, not just sport, but how to be a person.
"Even the guys that I played with at the weekend, those are the same people that coached me when I was growing up. It's so intertwined.
"The young guys you saw playing there the last day - Colm Enright, John Kennedy, Joe McDonnell, Adam Murphy - I coached all them underage coming up. They were at Hurling on the Green. Another superstar up and coming for our hurling club and football club, Bob Tuohy, he's a great hurler as well."
"He does not want to run into that man Abdullah Abbasi"
Free or a fair shoulder? Either way Abbasi was in super form yesterday scoring 1-6 including the winning goal!@MitchelsGaa| @MayoGAa | @Mayocredunion pic.twitter.com/8iHjmhkgjI
— StreamSport.ie (@StreamsportI) August 27, 2023
Though life and work have sometimes got in the way, Abbasi has always kept hurling.
"I was working with Dornan's, they're a mechanical engineering firm based in Cork," he says.
"They sent me to work on a project in Switzerland. Every six weeks, I'd get home for a week and I'd make sure I try to land down for training or any matches.
"I did bring my hurley to Switzerland. All the Swiss people were asking, 'What's that sport you're playing?' We'd be down at the lake, pucking around a ball with my work colleagues.
"It's not the same as coming in and doing a training session with the lads. You can never give hurling up, you can never put the hurley down - you bring it with you wherever you go.
"I was in Pakistan building a project with my dad. I brought my hurley to Pakistan. They were asking the same questions, 'What the hell is that you're playing with?'
"I have a few converts over there now. I have orders for hurleys. Hopefully, I'll get over in December again so I bring a few over and leave them there this time."
The victorious Castlebar Mitchels Hurling Club panel. Picture credit: Mayo GAA
In his 20-plus years in Ireland, Abbasi has experienced "very little" racism, and never on the hurling pitch.
"I'll be honest, you'd always have that little bit of negativity towards you," he says.
"What I love about Ireland, and I think a lot of people who have come to the country would agree with me, is that Irish people are very accepting.
"If somebody asks you a question, there's a few ways to interpret that. If you're going to take everything at a personal level where you feel like you're being insulted, that's bound to make you feel that way.
"For me, most of the time, people are just inquisitive. They want to learn about our culture, try the food. They'd be asking about your prayers. What do you eat, what do you not eat.
"I'd have suffered very little racism, and in hurling, never. Everyone has been respectful. We have a big Islamic community in Ballyhaunis."
Abbasi currently lives in Naas where he works with a quantity surveyor. Over the coming months, he'll continue to travel home for training as Castlebar aim to end a long Mayo Senior Hurling Championship drought. Abbasi is "100 per cent" hopeful of making the team.
"I'd definitely love to play my part," he says.
Highlights as a late goal saw as @MitchelsGaa defeat @CaisealGaels in the Junior B Hurling Final. @streamSporti | @Mayocredunion https://t.co/R8Kifnxh3H
— Mayo GAA (@MayoGAA) August 26, 2023
See Also: Son Of Kerry Legend Stars In Hurling And Football In Space Of Four Days
