During his playing days, Shahid was known for his running ability, dribbling of the ball and push which was as fast as a hard hit. His attacking partnership on the field with Zafar Iqbal was well known."Zafar at left-out and Shahid at right-in positions penetrated the best of the defences around the world with their superb understanding and passing of the ball. Zafar also pointed that Shahid was instrumental in the V. Baskaran-led India winning the gold medal at the 1980 Olympic Games. “Shahid played a crucial role for India in that Olympics, otherwise we would have been difficulty,” Zafar, who was part of that team, pointed."He was awarded the 'Best Forward player' at the 1980 Champions Trophy in Karachi. He was a member of the team that won the gold at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, silver at the 1982 Asian Games and bronze at the 1986 Asian Games. He also played in the World Cup in Mumbai (then Bombay) in 1981–82, the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984 and the Seoul Games in 1988.