Does anyone else think Pakistan should invest more in sports other than cricket?

[Giannis]

I think the nation's cricket obsession is hurting every other sport in the country, it already killed field hockey & racquetball (squash) - two sports Pakistan achieved immense success in. Looking at these olympic games and Pakistan's absence for the most part, it's kind of disappointing this is the same tale every 4 years. Right now 4 of the top 5 countries on the medals table are Asian and quite of few Arab countries have achieved success, I see no reason why Pakistan can't compete if there was a rigorous Olympic program but no one at the top in Pakistan's govt has any interest, unlike the Soviets & Chinese who believed in the importance of success at the games for their national reputation & pride - Pakistanis think they can gain world respect by posting travel vlogs and showing tourists the best artery clogging joints in the country

Even though Pakistan's Prime Minister was a former professional athlete, other than focusing on advancing cricket across the country, Khan hasn't even mentioned any plans on improving the state of other sports in Pakistan, they haven't done anything in the past 3 years for Tokyo and Paris 2024 is just around the corner so we can expect more of the same mediocrity. I think their best bet is to focus on developing a program for every sport at LA 2028 and every Asian & Commonwealth games in during that period, without long term planning Pakistan will forever a minnow nation at every international sports event.

 

[Giannis]

I forgot to mention, Pakistan's mens field hockey team failed to qualify for their 2nd consecutive Olympic games - the same nation that were 3 time Olympic champions, even India's hockey team hasn't had that kind of success at the Olympics barring the mickey mouse gold medal at Moscow 1980 that most of the world boycotted. It's disappointing to see Pakistan regress in the only sport we had a chance at medalling in.

 

[sweep_shot]

I would love to see South Asian nations do better in soccer. I hope Pakistan will focus on soccer more.

 

[Savak]

Tbh no commercial enterprise will invest in anything without expectations of a return. The Pakistani and multi national enterprises are struggling to even invest in Cricket.

Blame the likes of Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari for their brutal loot and plunder of national resources for the state of the country

 

[Giannis]

Tbh no commercial enterprise will invest in anything without expectations of a return. The Pakistani and multi national enterprises are struggling to even invest in Cricket.

Blame the likes of Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari for their brutal loot and plunder of national resources for the state of the country

I'm thinking more along the lines of the govt allocating a portion - even if a small amount towards the olympic program or they could just outsource it to the military and let them fund through a portion of their budget although that might be a far fetched idea. What they can do however is build a massive world class national Olympics training academy (one time expense) like how the US has the Olympic training academy in Colorado or maybe something like Australia's National Institute of Sport and then hold annual national games (they probably already do) but at at Olympic standards. I feel like a centralized top-down approach is the only way to achieve success as a country at any sport or even in any field (research, space race etc), that's how the USSR & China dominated the Olympics for so long.

 

[Savak]

I'm thinking more along the lines of the govt allocating a portion - even if a small amount towards the olympic program or they could just outsource it to the military and let them fund through a portion of their budget although that might be a far fetched idea. What they can do however is build a massive world class national Olympics training academy (one time expense) like how the US has the Olympic training academy in Colorado or maybe something like Australia's National Institute of Sport and then hold annual national games (they probably already do) but at at Olympic standards. I feel like a centralized top-down approach is the only way to achieve success as a country at any sport or even in any field (research, space race etc), that's how the USSR & China dominated the Olympics for so long.

I believe the Pakistani army, navy and air force is a significant investor in Sports in Pakistan.

 

[Giannis]

I believe the Pakistani army, navy and air force is a significant investor in Sports in Pakistan.

Well time for the civis to step it up. If I recall correctly, Pakistan's only entrants at the winter games were also from the military.

 

[PetroDollars]

To invest you need money, and to promote a sport which the nation has never picked up on, you need lots of it.

Even in cricket, we dont have any infranstruchure, but we have a culture that keeps giving us players, all they need is a ball with tape and a bat and you could play anywhere

Football is a very cheap game, all you need is a ball and a place to play, i would love to see us more in football comps, we just need to spread the culture and get the kids playing in gullies. This is how African and south american nations have done it without an infranstruchure in place.

 

[Giannis]

To invest you need money, and to promote a sport which the nation has never picked up on, you need lots of it.

Even in cricket, we dont have any infranstruchure, but we have a culture that keeps giving us players, all they need is a ball with tape and a bat and you could play anywhere

Football is a very cheap game, all you need is a ball and a place to play, i would love to see us more in football comps, we just need to spread the culture and get the kids playing in gullies. This is how African and south american nations have done it without an infranstruchure in place.

True, perhaps a top-down centralized approach may be difficult for a poor country however I don't understand why the rich/upper class people in Pakistan never put their kids in sports, you'd expect the children of the rich to have the luxury to pursue a sport. It's like all they do is eat and travel and that's it, they have no ambition or drive, you see parents in America wake up 5 in the morning take their kids to the gym and practice and drive/fly them to tournaments where ever needed, I'm sure Pakistan could win a few medals if the ruling class had any interest in sport.

 

[Savak]

Not sure if just blaming the govt is fair. Indian sports bodies moved away from demanding govt handouts and found a way to attract private commercial sponsors. What is stoping the people responsible for running Hockey, Squash, Football, Boxing e.t.c. to do the same? If the people in charge of these bodies are very happy and content to treat their roles as a govt job, 9-3 lifestyle regardless of performance, results or not you get a free salary, then obviously things will stagnate and deteriorate.

Pakistan as a country is bankrupt and the PM has too many urgent strategic national issues to deal with. He cannot micromanage everything himself 24/7. The private sector needs to step up. When the PSL started there was no expectation of any profits, returns and all the stakeholders had no idea what they were doing and were venturing into unchartered territory and Sethi appealled to them that the country desperately needs a league of this nature and please spend reasonably large amounts for patriotic reasons and they did. The seed was laid and now the PSL is a respectable brand and any future PSL franchise owner will now pay 3-4 times the amount paid by the first Franchise owners.

What the govt can do is to encourage the private sector to invest massively in sports and talented sportsmen by offering them tax write off's, incentives, credits e.t.c.

 

[rockyboy2018]

Start incorporating discipline in every aspect of their life. Learn to stand up in a queue. Start treating each other with respect. Once basic values are in place, every department will improve. Look at the Pakistan cricket team - their dressing room is full of politics and jealousy. How are you going to perform well even if you are a 100 mph, fast bowler? Additionally, apart from sports Pakistan must invest a lot of money in the education sector without it no nation-building. No progress.Nothing else. Building a museum overshooting an Indian pilot is not going to cut it. Their priorities have to be in the right place.

 

[Savak]

Start incorporating discipline in every aspect of their life. Learn to stand up in a queue. Start treating each other with respect. Once basic values are in place, every department will improve. Look at the Pakistan cricket team - their dressing room is full of politics and jealousy. How are you going to perform well even if you are a 100 mph, fast bowler? Additionally, apart from sports Pakistan must invest a lot of money in the education sector without it no nation-building. No progress.Nothing else. Building a museum overshooting an Indian pilot is not going to cut it. Their priorities have to be in the right place.

Absolutely. The Indian and Pakistan economy was not really different in the 90's. In fact in the Ayub Khan era in the 60's, Pakistan was doing far better economically vis a vis India and many countries like Indonesia cited Pakistan as a model for growth, prosperity in the 60's.

However the Indian governments in the 90's decided to capitalize and invested very heavily in education, focused on diversifying exports, industries and ensuring that local indigenous products were promoted vs exports. The results are clearly in front of us now 20-30 years later where India has reaps rewards massively whereas the PPP, PML N are single handedly responsible for 90% of our foreign debts of $100 billion and there is just nothing to show for it.

 

[PakLFC]

I have been saying this for ages how the obsession with an undemanding Sport like Cricket is killing other Sports in the country. We should invest in Football, Tennis and all major Sports instead of always putting Cricket first. How embarrassing is it too see a country of well over 200 million people struggling to win even one medal at the Olympics. Whatever money we have should be equally shared between all Sports giving us a chance to prosper. To be respected by the like of China, America and Russia we need to play Football in particular which is the world Sport.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

I have been saying this for ages how the obsession with an undemanding Sport like Cricket is killing other Sports in the country. We should invest in Football, Tennis and all major Sports instead of always putting Cricket first. How embarrassing is it too see a country of well over 200 million people struggling to win even one medal at the Olympics. Whatever money we have should be equally shared between all Sports giving us a chance to prosper. To be respected by the like of China, America and Russia we need to play Football in particular which is the world Sport.

Together with an EXTEREME lack of facilities and funds, one of the biggest issue is our social culture.

IMO, 90% of kids who play cricket and pursue it as a career, either play it for fun or go against their parents wishes (who only want their kids to become a doctor or an engineer) to pursue a career in cricket OR they are usually unable to pursue high education (due to whatever reason), and work in blue collar type labor jobs and from there, they improve on whatever cricket skills they develop.

Here in the west, almost EVERY PARENT takes their kids to the sporting events/practice after school hours. Be it baseball, Soccer, Karate, Football, Ice Hockey, running, swimming, weight lifting etc ... every parent pushes their kids to excel is sports TOGETHER with going to school.

Matter of fact, I can say it with surety that many at times it feels that many parents in the west are more interested and more focused in encouraging their kids to play sports rather than worry about school.

The logic is, playing sports not only keeps you healthy, fit and away from dugs but you also expose your potential of having natural talent for sports rather than pursuing careers that require academic excellence, like becoming physician etc.

In our culture, kids playing sports is looked upon as something that will "badly effect your educational career" and deemed as wasting time.

We don't realize that not every kid can become a doctor or engineer. And not every kid can become an international level sports start. However, many kids may have naturally build for playing sports but we simply don't encourage taping on that potential.

 

[ElRaja]

pakistan wont be able to compete with the top football nations in decades even if it started trying today. apart from brazil all the top 10 football nations are developed economies that invest a huge amount of money into sport.

pakistan should focus on lower hanging fruit. individual sport where pak might get lucky with a freak talent, which is more likely to happen in a country of 215 million people. also given paks history in certain sports id consider the following as the top 5 to maximise bang for your buck

1. hockey - already have the infrastructure and local coaches with local participation. wouldn't require mass educational program as most people in pakistan understand hockey.

2. wrestling - olympic style style, there is a history of the sport in the country, espcially in gujranwala and surrounds. again as with hockey most people already understand the sport, and being an individual sport more likely to find a greak talent.

3. boxing - similar to wrestling but with lower levels of local expertise, however can leverage guys like amir khan to increase profile in country, similar to wrestling, individual sport.

4. javelin - if you can bowl in cricket, you can understand javelin, pak already have a ready made coach too, buss tuggra rehna hai :shoaib

5. weightlifting - individual, and pretty cost efficient, and ties in with cultural sport such as stone throwing.

 

[Savak]

I have been saying this for ages how the obsession with an undemanding Sport like Cricket is killing other Sports in the country. We should invest in Football, Tennis and all major Sports instead of always putting Cricket first. How embarrassing is it too see a country of well over 200 million people struggling to win even one medal at the Olympics. Whatever money we have should be equally shared between all Sports giving us a chance to prosper. To be respected by the like of China, America and Russia we need to play Football in particular which is the world Sport.

The investment goes to Cricket because that is where the demand is. The PCB is the only sporting body in the country which doesn't beg the govt for handouts and strikes its own commercial, broadcast deals. Nothing is stopping the other sporting bodies from doing the same. In a poor bankrupt country, the govt is not going to have excess funds to distribute towards sports

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

As long as sports bodies are treated as the dumping ground for retired Generals, sports in Pakistan will keep on suffering.

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

If Pakistan wants to achieve better outcomes at the Olympics then we really need to get our priorities straight and appoint people with proper sports management backgrounds with proven records and credentials. That would just be a start.

 

[thelandofthebravepeople]

pakistan wont be able to compete with the top football nations in decades even if it started trying today. apart from brazil all the top 10 football nations are developed economies that invest a huge amount of money into sport.

pakistan should focus on lower hanging fruit. individual sport where pak might get lucky with a freak talent, which is more likely to happen in a country of 215 million people. also given paks history in certain sports id consider the following as the top 5 to maximise bang for your buck

1. hockey - already have the infrastructure and local coaches with local participation. wouldn't require mass educational program as most people in pakistan understand hockey.

2. wrestling - olympic style style, there is a history of the sport in the country, espcially in gujranwala and surrounds. again as with hockey most people already understand the sport, and being an individual sport more likely to find a greak talent.

3. boxing - similar to wrestling but with lower levels of local expertise, however can leverage guys like amir khan to increase profile in country, similar to wrestling, individual sport.

4. javelin - if you can bowl in cricket, you can understand javelin, pak already have a ready made coach too, buss tuggra rehna hai :shoaib

5. weightlifting - individual, and pretty cost efficient, and ties in with cultural sport such as stone throwing.

I agree with this. Forget about Football. Even if Pakistan started taking it seriously today it will take 40-50 years before they dominate Asia leave alone Europe or South America.

Beside the sports you mentioned there is Taekwando, Judo, Karate, Long Jump, Badminton, Archery and Shooting. There is a good chance to do well in these sports as basically it's pretty low cost and NOT a team sport. You can get lucky with 1 athlete that can go on and inspire a nation.

 

[Giannis]

I agree with this. Forget about Football. Even if Pakistan started taking it seriously today it will take 40-50 years before they dominate Asia leave alone Europe or South America.

Beside the sports you mentioned there is Taekwando, Judo, Karate, Long Jump, Badminton, Archery and Shooting. There is a good chance to do well in these sports as basically it's pretty low cost and NOT a team sport. You can get lucky with 1 athlete that can go on and inspire a nation.

40-50 years is like 2-3 generations, I think that's far too long. It only takes one generation to change everything, I think Pakistan should focus on the under 12 age group and scout and develop the talent they think can win them medals in 2028, 2032 and 2036. I think Paris 2024 too late for us to do anything, it's right around the corner.

 

[guna]

Investing in education and healthcare is more beneficial. These Olympic medals are useless other than bragging rights.
Olympics will be quickly forgotten once it ends.

 

[street cricketer]

I forgot to mention, Pakistan's mens field hockey team failed to qualify for their 2nd consecutive Olympic games - the same nation that were 3 time Olympic champions, even India's hockey team hasn't had that kind of success at the Olympics barring the mickey mouse gold medal at Moscow 1980 that most of the world boycotted. It's disappointing to see Pakistan regress in the only sport we had a chance at medalling in.

A little bit of googling wouldn't harm one..

 

[Walawalkar]

I forgot to mention, Pakistan's mens field hockey team failed to qualify for their 2nd consecutive Olympic games - the same nation that were 3 time Olympic champions, even India's hockey team hasn't had that kind of success at the Olympics barring the mickey mouse gold medal at Moscow 1980 that most of the world boycotted. It's disappointing to see Pakistan regress in the only sport we had a chance at medalling in.

Why unnecessarily dragging India when there is no relevance
And JFYI Sir....India's hockey team is the most successful team ever in the Olympics, having won eight gold medals. India emerged as champions at the games in 1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964, 1980. India also has the best overall performance in Olympic history with 77 victories out of the 126 matches played. They have also scored the most goals in the Olympics than any other team. They are also the only team to ever win the Olympics without conceding a single goal in 1928 and 1956.

 

[Giannis]

A little bit of googling wouldn't harm one..

Why unnecessarily dragging India when there is no relevance
And JFYI Sir....India's hockey team is the most successful team ever in the Olympics, having won eight gold medals. India emerged as champions at the games in 1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964, 1980. India also has the best overall performance in Olympic history with 77 victories out of the 126 matches played. They have also scored the most goals in the Olympics than any other team. They are also the only team to ever win the Olympics without conceding a single goal in 1928 and 1956.

I stand corrected

Btw I only count India's medal from after partition, the '28, '32' and '36 games were played by colonial India which was a different entity and played under a different flag.

 

[street cricketer]

I stand corrected

Btw I only count India's medal from after partition, the '28, '32' and '36 games were played by colonial India which was a different entity and played under a different flag.

That's fair.

 

[Local.Dada]

I stand corrected

Btw I only count India's medal from after partition, the '28, '32' and '36 games were played by colonial India which was a different entity and played under a different flag.

True however the fact is Indian athletes qualify for the Olympics. They don’t get invitations to make up numbers. Indian shooters, wrestlers, boxers, archers are all world ranked players. Even in doubles and mixed doubles we have had high ranking players in the last. India is a force in badminton and Indian hockey team is far removed from the glory days but is still considered a dangerous mid tier team and not minnows. Hell even Indias women’s hockey team qualifies for Olympics even though they might not be up to
The standard of the rest of the girls.

Now sure they may get outmatched in the actual event or choke under pressure. Nothing can be done about that.

No one is delusional that India is as good as China, US and Russia in other sports but if it makes you feel better pointing at Indias medals and population saying India and Pakistan have similar type of governance, funding and quality of athletes, have a ball with it.

 

[Local.Dada]

That's fair.

Why is that fair? New Zealand and South Africa have won the same number of major ICC trophies as Namibia and Scotland. What does that prove?

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Not sure if just blaming the govt is fair. Indian sports bodies moved away from demanding govt handouts and found a way to attract private commercial sponsors. What is stoping the people responsible for running Hockey, Squash, Football, Boxing e.t.c. to do the same? If the people in charge of these bodies are very happy and content to treat their roles as a govt job, 9-3 lifestyle regardless of performance, results or not you get a free salary, then obviously things will stagnate and deteriorate.

Pakistan as a country is bankrupt and the PM has too many urgent strategic national issues to deal with. He cannot micromanage everything himself 24/7. The private sector needs to step up. When the PSL started there was no expectation of any profits, returns and all the stakeholders had no idea what they were doing and were venturing into unchartered territory and Sethi appealled to them that the country desperately needs a league of this nature and please spend reasonably large amounts for patriotic reasons and they did. The seed was laid and now the PSL is a respectable brand and any future PSL franchise owner will now pay 3-4 times the amount paid by the first Franchise owners.

What the govt can do is to encourage the private sector to invest massively in sports and talented sportsmen by offering them tax write off's, incentives, credits e.t.c.

This. Sport is wealth generating once it reaches a certain level, but you have to start somewhere. Even crappy local leagues in England can usually attract some form of local sponsorship, it's the same principle but at a much higher scale.

 

[street cricketer]

Why is that fair? New Zealand and South Africa have won the same number of major ICC trophies as Namibia and Scotland. What does that prove?

I don't understand what you're trying to tell here.
[MENTION=150563]Giannis[/MENTION] said that he'll not count the medals won before 1947 towards modern India's tally, which is not entirely unfair as the medals won pre partition were for united British India and therefore Pakistan and Bangladesh have the same claim over those medals as we have. No idea what NZ, SA, Scotland and Namibia have to do with this here.

 

[Last Monetarist]

I don't understand what you're trying to tell here.

[MENTION=150563]Giannis[/MENTION] said that he'll not count the medals won before 1947 towards modern India's tally, which is not entirely unfair as the medals won pre partition were for united British India and therefore Pakistan and Bangladesh have the same claim over those medals as we have. No idea what NZ, SA, Scotland and Namibia have to do with this here.

Not only is the point asinine, it's also ludicrously inaccurate given how New Zealand won a major ICC trophy just a few weeks ago. A trophy that the present Indian coach termed as the big daddy of all tournaments.

 

[Local.Dada]

I don't understand what you're trying to tell here.

[MENTION=150563]Giannis[/MENTION] said that he'll not count the medals won before 1947 towards modern India's tally, which is not entirely unfair as the medals won pre partition were for united British India and therefore Pakistan and Bangladesh have the same claim over those medals as we have. No idea what NZ, SA, Scotland and Namibia have to do with this here.

Ok my bad I misunderstood. My point (don’t if it is relevant to what you said )was while medals matter at the end of the day, it doesn’t always reflect how much a team or sporting culture has deteriorated or improved based on medal count alone.

Our shooters,archers,wrestlers are right up there in individual rankings and so are are our badminton players but unfortunately they are getting outplayed or they end up choking.

The point was we can’t put South Africa or Nzl in the same bracket with Namibia Scotland based on trophy count. Fine Nzl won WTC I guess it’s a landmark tournament now for a few for
Obvious reasons but that’s the premise of the point I was making is there is no comparison between Where India stands in terms of sports vs Pakistan. I thought that’s the point that guy was making comparing the 2, if not my apologies again.

Similarly our hockey is not all irrelevant right now in world standing unfortunately compared to Pakistan which has seen more terminal decline relatively speaking.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Was just watching the video of Pakistan's Hockey World Cup winning moment from 1994 today. I had seen the video years ago but was still taken aback by how the entire National Hockey Stadium of 45,000 in Lahore (the biggest hockey stadium in the world, mind you) was packed to the rafters with everyone cheering on Pakistan's goal-keeper as he kept out the last penalty shot to win us the trophy.

I can only imagine how a moment like that would have been to witness live.

Its sad and shocking to see how far Pakistan has fallen, in just hockey. The blame does not rest on one body in my eyes, but the end result is the same: the death of hockey in Pakistan.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

pakistan wont be able to compete with the top football nations in decades even if it started trying today. apart from brazil all the top 10 football nations are developed economies that invest a huge amount of money into sport.

pakistan should focus on lower hanging fruit. individual sport where pak might get lucky with a freak talent, which is more likely to happen in a country of 215 million people. also given paks history in certain sports id consider the following as the top 5 to maximise bang for your buck

1. hockey - already have the infrastructure and local coaches with local participation. wouldn't require mass educational program as most people in pakistan understand hockey.

2. wrestling - olympic style style, there is a history of the sport in the country, espcially in gujranwala and surrounds. again as with hockey most people already understand the sport, and being an individual sport more likely to find a greak talent.

3. boxing - similar to wrestling but with lower levels of local expertise, however can leverage guys like amir khan to increase profile in country, similar to wrestling, individual sport.

4. javelin - if you can bowl in cricket, you can understand javelin, pak already have a ready made coach too, buss tuggra rehna hai :shoaib

5. weightlifting - individual, and pretty cost efficient, and ties in with cultural sport such as stone throwing.

This is the way. I would add shooting, and badminton to the list. Their are 15 shooting medals at the Olympics, so their might be a chance to win a medal or two by focusing on that.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Investing in education and healthcare is more beneficial. These Olympic medals are useless other than bragging rights.
Olympics will be quickly forgotten once it ends.

Yes, but its humiliating to not even win one medal. Pakistan has not won a medal this century, and has only won 2 medals that were not hockey in history.

 

[Giannis]

Investing in education and healthcare is more beneficial. These Olympic medals are useless other than bragging rights.
Olympics will be quickly forgotten once it ends.

You can do all 3 and more, governments/nations can multitask. Doing well in sports would also indirectly help Pakistan's healthcare and education sectors.

 

[PakLFC]

Pak people would start giving up on Cricket if we ever become half decent at other in demand Sports. As we are only remotely good at Cricket it is this or nothing at least for the next 20 years.

 

[MenInG]

LAHORE: The Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) has alleged that the Inter-provincial Ministry (IPC), headed by Fehmida Mirza, and the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) are mainly responsible for the decline of sports in the country while the POA is not responsible for sports development in the country.

In a strong statement issued here on Tuesday, the POA also pointed out that the IPC made a false claim that it had sent a summary to the Prime Minister for the preparation of the athletes who have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics.

The POA also criticised the PSB for the unutilised sports funds worth Rs 440 million to the finance ministry and in the Olympic year instead of spending it on the preparations of the athletes for the Tokyo Games.

While the POA hailed the performance of weightlifter Talha Talib at the Olympics, it also leveled serious allegations over the IPC-PSB.

“On Sunday, we witnessed an amazing performance by Talha Talib who secured fifth position in the 67Kg weightlifting event at the world’s most prestigious sporting gala Tokyo 2020. His performance manifests the resolve which not only will encourage his fellow Olympians at Tokyo but those who are working hard to raise the national flag at international arenas in the future,” the POA stated.

“Talha has done us proud. Had the Pakistan Sports Board lived up to its responsibilities, we would have seen Talha on the podium along with talented shooter Joseph Gulfam and the other athletes representing the country.

“Right at the outset, let us make certain aspects very clear. The POA is not responsible for the Sports Development in the country. This is the responsibility of PSB and it is clearly stated in their own rules which are available on their website (http://www.sports.gov.pk),” the POA statement added.

The POA further clarified their organisation is representative of IOC and OCA for Olympic Movement in Pakistan and is mandated to Foster Olympism through Sports and Education.

“It is our stated position, duly conveyed to the concerned quarters on multiple occasions, that the existing facilities and financial support for our sportspersons are the lowest in the region despite which our athletes have made tremendous strides in their respective sports events, as is evident from Talha Talib’s performance.”

“On May 31, 2021 POA categorically stated its concerns vide a rress release about the surrendered Rs. 440 million and that too in the Olympic year. This money could and should have been utilized for further specialized training of those athletes who had qualified on their own steam.

“It could have been utilized to assist other athletes who were capable of qualifying but could not do so as niether they nor their federations have the resources. Fine athletes like Saadi Abbas lacked the resources to train and qualify. The grant from the remaining amount was doled out at the end of the financial year with no basis or criteria of allotment and was therefore frittered away which is a case of too little too late.”

POA said that it managed scholarships and financial support for athletes through IOC that has benefited all the three qualified shooters, Talha Talib and Bismah Khan who are part of the Pakistan Contingent at Tokyo 2020.

“The total amount of IOC Financial Support for Athletes is US$242,000. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the IOC for their support. Apart from these scholarships, POA funded the complete contingent for its travelling and Covid testing for participation in the Tokyo Games although this was the duty of the PSB as per their mandate. Even the dope testing prior to departure was financed by POA, especially through the provision of kits as the Government has not funded the National Anti-Doping Organi*zation of Pakistan although it is required to do so as per the requirements of WADA and the UN. (Reportedly PSB has reimbursed the amount spent by POA for doping to NADO).

“POA has always expressed its readiness to assist and can assume an advisory role if desired by the authorities to establish an elite sports development program however the National Sports Federations shall remain custodian of their Games. POA’s exclusive domain is to monitor observance of Olympic Charter and WADA Code in Pakistan.

“In the end, we strongly condemn baseless and misleading information being spread about POA and its office bearers. POA is a non-governmental and non profit-organisation entrusted to promote Olympic values in Pakistan. POA has to remain within its domain as defined in the Olympic Charter.

“It is categorically stated that neither POA gets any financial support from the Government of Pakistan nor its elected office bearers are paid employees, instead they serve on a voluntary basis,” it concluded.

Published in Dawn, July 28th , 2021

 

[Saj]

Too many sons and daughters of rich and influential people representing Pakistan across sports.

Freeloaders as coaches and officials with the proper deserving people getting no or very little support.

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Number of athletes qualified for Olympics -

Pakistan : 10
Sri lanka : 9
Bangladesh : 6
Nepal : 4
Maldives : 4
Bhutan : 2


First step would be to increase participation, medals will come gradually after few Olympics. Like athletes who lose will still carry knowledge and might train next generation kids to build over that.

As someone suggested above, Pakistan can target sports like Wrestling, Weight lifting, Karate, Judo, Taekwando. Iran sees good success with above sports, I don't see a reason why Pakistan can't repeat the same with similar body build and diet habits.

 

[Local.Dada]

Number of athletes qualified for Olympics -

Pakistan : 10
Sri lanka : 9
Bangladesh : 6
Nepal : 4
Maldives : 4
Bhutan : 2


First step would be to increase participation, medals will come gradually after few Olympics. Like athletes who lose will still carry knowledge and might train next generation kids to build over that.

As someone suggested above, Pakistan can target sports like Wrestling, Weight lifting, Karate, Judo, Taekwando. Iran sees good success with above sports, I don't see a reason why Pakistan can't repeat the same with similar body build and diet habits.

More than Pakistan and Srilanka Who have produced Olympic athletes, I am surprised there are 6 athletes from Bangladesh. Not saying it in a demeaning way but I don’t think I have ever seen or heard of a Bangladeshi sportsmen outside of cricket.

 

[Babbar]

In 2019 South Asian games in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - each won more medals than Pakistan. Pakistan needs to put in more effort else it won’t be relevant even in South Asian games.

 

[PakLFC]

PM sahib answered the question on the decline of Sports in Pak two days back. Seems like more cheap excuses to me.

 

[street cricketer]

Think Pakistan's issue is not the Olympics. That's too big a hurdle to cross for developing nations. The bigger issue is that even in the Asian games, it doesn't break into the top 30s and probably the most worrying thing is, Nepal and Sri Lanka have overtaken Pakistan in terms of performance in the south asian games which is competed by only 7 or so countries in the subcontinent. That should definitely not be happening.

I just googled the south asian games and was surprised (pleasantly I must add) to see that the next edition of the south asian games is being hosted at Lahore in 2023. It's been a long time since we last saw a sporting competition being held in Pakistan. I really hope all countries including India participate in the games, but Pakistan really need to pull up its socks in the next edition at Lahore. Home teams generally have a good performance in sporting competitions, so Pakistan should look to put in a good performance in those games because the likes of Nepal and Sri Lanka have become very competitive now.

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD:
Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar announced initiating two sports projects under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in "all federating units of the country", on Thursday.

"Reviewed 2 new PSDP [Public Sector Development Programme] projects for sports under kamyab jawan program. A talent hunt scheme and a scheme to develop sports academies/high performance centers," Umar said on Twitter.

"Both will be done thru HEC [Higher Education Commission] and in all Federating units of the country. Time to reverse the decades old neglect of sports," he added.

On August 3, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry informed the media that the federal cabinet had given approval for the grant of loans of Rs315 billion to the youth under the Kamyab Jawan Programme.

On May 25, Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced a whopping Rs100 billion start-up loans package for the youth to help them start their own businesses in the biggest ever incentive scheme for the young population in the country’s history.

The prime minister also announced 170,000 skills-education scholarships, out of which around 50,000 would be reserved for high-end skills such as the latest technology, including artificial intelligence and big data.

Terming unemployment as a huge problem, Prime Minister Imran said in a special televised message for youth that the government would increase this allocation every year in order to help the youth become self-reliant in earning and businesses.

“The government’s this initiative to extend soft loans worth Rs100 billion through the Kamyab Jawan Programme will encourage the country’s youth to launch start-ups and businesses of their own,” Imran said.

He urged the youth to diverge their energies on learning skills in order to becoming self-reliant rather than desiring government jobs. “The government cannot afford more public [sector] jobs because the pension bill is already increasing the financial burden,” he added.

The PM stressed that private sector jobs, self-business, small and medium enterprises and start-ups are the solution to unemployment the world over. He hoped the youth would benefit from these two schemes and tap the immense opportunities in diverse fields.

The Kamyab Jawan Programme was launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan on October 17, 2019 with an aim to provide loans to the youth to set up their businesses and also given a set of educational and skill-development opportunities.

The programme is expected to benefit one million young people. The loans will be distributed on a priority basis in 45 underprivileged districts.

 

[MenInG]

Could this be the reason for our dismal performances in Olympics?

 

[street cricketer]

Always been amused by how retired generals find their way to being the head of most civilian organisations totally unrelated to military and warfare in Pakistan.

It happens in India too, but not with army but politicians. Like Jay Shah being the head of BCCI.

 

[Saj]

Sad times for a nation that has always been very proud of its great sportsmen. Great hockey players, cricketers and squash players come to mind straight away.

Nowadays it seems that most of Pakistan's representatives in sports are only there for a free holiday.

One wonders about the lack of investment, lack of direction, the lack of backing for its sportsmen and women and whether the deserving people are actually being selected.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Sad times for a nation that has always been very proud of its great sportsmen. Great hockey players, cricketers and squash players come to mind straight away.

Nowadays it seems that most of Pakistan's representatives in sports are only there for a free holiday.

One wonders about the lack of investment, lack of direction, the lack of backing for its sportsmen and women and whether the deserving people are actually being selected.

Yep.
However, talking about solutions, looking at the govt with pleas to create facilities and reduce corruption is secondary issue.
The major issue is, we as a nation need to wake up and upgrade our mindset, as I posted in #14.

We need to encourage our kids to reduce on screen time and social media, and go out more. We must encourage and support and help the kids to play more sports!

What govt facilities and perks did Jaan Sher Khan and Jahangir Khan had that helped them become world champions? What extra ordinary coaches and grounds we had for our hockey team to ace the world?

As a nation we need to change our attitude towards sports. We must strive to introduce it as a lucrative career field. And if nothing else, it keeps you healthy and fit.

Just like there is a need for every kid to go school, there must be a need for every kid to play sports.
This is how we are going to create that environment that nourishes talent.

And then obviously, the govt must facilitate at the school level - all major and popular sports.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Think Pakistan's issue is not the Olympics. That's too big a hurdle to cross for developing nations. The bigger issue is that even in the Asian games, it doesn't break into the top 30s and probably the most worrying thing is, Nepal and Sri Lanka have overtaken Pakistan in terms of performance in the south asian games which is competed by only 7 or so countries in the subcontinent. That should definitely not be happening.

I just googled the south asian games and was surprised (pleasantly I must add) to see that the next edition of the south asian games is being hosted at Lahore in 2023. It's been a long time since we last saw a sporting competition being held in Pakistan. I really hope all countries including India participate in the games, but Pakistan really need to pull up its socks in the next edition at Lahore. Home teams generally have a good performance in sporting competitions, so Pakistan should look to put in a good performance in those games because the likes of Nepal and Sri Lanka have become very competitive now.

Don't expect anything. There is no structure in Pakistan like none whatsoever. There aren't even competitive school sports. It's just cricket.

So, if you see a Pakistani Olympian, it is nothing short of a miracle. He/she has made it there on sheer ability.

 

[Giannis]

Sad times for a nation that has always been very proud of its great sportsmen. Great hockey players, cricketers and squash players come to mind straight away.

Nowadays it seems that most of Pakistan's representatives in sports are only there for a free holiday.

One wonders about the lack of investment, lack of direction, the lack of backing for its sportsmen and women and whether the deserving people are actually being selected.

It's not really about the selection, Pakistan doesn't have a large pool of world level trained athletes. Once there's a grassroots system in place and Pakistan is regularly holding national competitions and competing at the world stage like IAAF, FINA, FIFA events as well as Asian games, Commonwealth games, Islamic games and the SAF games then we can talk about selection, right now every one in Tokyo deserves except for those POC officials who are there for a paid vacation.

 

[street cricketer]

Don't expect anything. There is no structure in Pakistan like none whatsoever. There aren't even competitive school sports. It's just cricket.

So, if you see a Pakistani Olympian, it is nothing short of a miracle. He/she has made it there on sheer ability.

Nice to see you back Chief!

I can relate to your sentiments because India too was in the same situation in the past and is still largely in similar situation apart from a few sports like hockey, archery, badminton and shooting where they have made decent strides. Wrestling obviously has always been pretty big in Punjab & Haryana, so that will always be there in the fray.

I think developing countries like India and Pakistan have no hope in games like swimming (which has the most medals to be won in most competitions) as it requires heavy investment and not many people in India and Pakistan can afford the highest training that the top swimmers in the world enjoy. But we should target the traditional games like wrestling, boxing and also games like shooting and archery which while still requiring investment, perhaps is not as difficult to excel as it is to do in other high intensity sports like swimming and athletics.

It's always great to concentrate on specific sports to start with and even within a country, there will be regional differences for interest in sports. All it requires is one role model to inspire a culture of specific sport in a region. For some reason, Sri Lankan sprinters always do well in south asian games because there is a good culture of sprinting and athletics in Sri Lanka. They won the medals for athletics in the last saf games. Even within India, Punjab and Haryana are the traditional hubs of wrestling in the country. North east India does well in boxing after getting inspired by Mary Kom. They also do very well in weightlifting. Kerala particularly and Tamil Nadu generally does well in sprinting and long distance running after getting inspired by PT Usha winning multiple gold medals in the asian games. Hyderabad is the capital of badminton in India and has produced previous olympic medalists like Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu. Then there's the obvious huge popularity for football in Kerala and north east India.

I'm sure within Pakistan too, there must be traditional hubs for wrestling and sports like hockey where it's more popular. Should concentrate on those regions and develop a culture in that specific region. The pioneers will become the role models. Olympics will always be difficult but such concentrated development of sports might lead to fruition in asian games and south asian games.

P.S.: Arshad Nadeem has qualified for the final in javelin throw, the first time a Pakistani athlete has done so in an athletics event final. So theoretically all three medals possible. Don't miss it. He was the gold medalist in the last saf games in Nepal.

 

[Greenstorm]

Our sports are in shambles.

Take for instance the case of Inam Butt. He was our only hope for a medal in Tokyo. Has has been winning medals at various competitions throughout the last decade (CWG Gold in 2010 and 2018). The guy could not participate for 2019 world championship due to lack of funds and ended up not qualifying for Olympics.
https://arysports.tv/wrestler-inam-butt-blames-government-qualifying-tokyo-olympics/

There are 10000 different sports associations and committees, all bent on making corruption money. Not a single one of them could take care of this guy.

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Our sports are in shambles.

Take for instance the case of Inam Butt. He was our only hope for a medal in Tokyo. Has has been winning medals at various competitions throughout the last decade (CWG Gold in 2010 and 2018). The guy could not participate for 2019 world championship due to lack of funds and ended up not qualifying for Olympics.
https://arysports.tv/wrestler-inam-butt-blames-government-qualifying-tokyo-olympics/

There are 10000 different sports associations and committees, all bent on making corruption money. Not a single one of them could take care of this guy.

This is really sad! By next Olympics he will be 35-36 so will be past his best

 

[Greenstorm]

Was just watching the video of Pakistan's Hockey World Cup winning moment from 1994 today. I had seen the video years ago but was still taken aback by how the entire National Hockey Stadium of 45,000 in Lahore (the biggest hockey stadium in the world, mind you) was packed to the rafters with everyone cheering on Pakistan's goal-keeper as he kept out the last penalty shot to win us the trophy.

I can only imagine how a moment like that would have been to witness live.

Its sad and shocking to see how far Pakistan has fallen, in just hockey. The blame does not rest on one body in my eyes, but the end result is the same: the death of hockey in Pakistan.

94 World Cup victory was in Sydney. You are probably talking about the CT win at Lahore.

 

[proud_pakistani]

I wish we would invest in football. Cheap sport, growing following and overall its a great sport to follow where you dont have to spend so much time like cricket.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

The way hockey and squash died in the country back in the 90's it is hard to revive them again with zero infrastructure in the country.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

I wish we would invest in football. Cheap sport, growing following and overall its a great sport to follow where you dont have to spend so much time like cricket.

Especially with the sport gathering a lot of followers now in the last 5-6 years among youngsters.

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

The way hockey and squash died in the country back in the 90's it is hard to revive them again with zero infrastructure in the country.

You do not have any infra left for field Hockey?

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

94 World Cup victory was in Sydney. You are probably talking about the CT win at Lahore.

Yeah my bad. It was the CT win

 

[proud_pakistani]

Especially with the sport gathering a lot of followers now in the last 5-6 years among youngsters.

Yes. apparently there is franchise style football league in the works. Also Karachi has recently seen a surge with new academies like Karachi City Football Club recently and many Futsal tournaments all over the country.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Nice to see you back Chief!

I can relate to your sentiments because India too was in the same situation in the past and is still largely in similar situation apart from a few sports like hockey, archery, badminton and shooting where they have made decent strides. Wrestling obviously has always been pretty big in Punjab & Haryana, so that will always be there in the fray.

I think developing countries like India and Pakistan have no hope in games like swimming (which has the most medals to be won in most competitions) as it requires heavy investment and not many people in India and Pakistan can afford the highest training that the top swimmers in the world enjoy. But we should target the traditional games like wrestling, boxing and also games like shooting and archery which while still requiring investment, perhaps is not as difficult to excel as it is to do in other high intensity sports like swimming and athletics.

It's always great to concentrate on specific sports to start with and even within a country, there will be regional differences for interest in sports. All it requires is one role model to inspire a culture of specific sport in a region. For some reason, Sri Lankan sprinters always do well in south asian games because there is a good culture of sprinting and athletics in Sri Lanka. They won the medals for athletics in the last saf games. Even within India, Punjab and Haryana are the traditional hubs of wrestling in the country. North east India does well in boxing after getting inspired by Mary Kom. They also do very well in weightlifting. Kerala particularly and Tamil Nadu generally does well in sprinting and long distance running after getting inspired by PT Usha winning multiple gold medals in the asian games. Hyderabad is the capital of badminton in India and has produced previous olympic medalists like Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu. Then there's the obvious huge popularity for football in Kerala and north east India.

I'm sure within Pakistan too, there must be traditional hubs for wrestling and sports like hockey where it's more popular. Should concentrate on those regions and develop a culture in that specific region. The pioneers will become the role models. Olympics will always be difficult but such concentrated development of sports might lead to fruition in asian games and south asian games.

P.S.: Arshad Nadeem has qualified for the final in javelin throw, the first time a Pakistani athlete has done so in an athletics event final. So theoretically all three medals possible. Don't miss it. He was the gold medalist in the last saf games in Nepal.

Yeah, I understand what you're saying but I don't see it happening. The one thing the government can do is invest heavily in school sports competitions, particularly the sports that don't require a lot of equipment. The athletes would at least have a background to work with and if they wanna pursue their passion individually afterwards, they'd be in much better position.

There's no comparison between India and Pakistan. You guys have invested heavily in your sports structure in the last ten years and it's starting to show. I see India winning at least 20 medals by the next Olympics.

 

[ElRaja]

I wish we would invest in football. Cheap sport, growing following and overall its a great sport to follow where you dont have to spend so much time like cricket.

what makes u think football is cheap? yes buying a ball is cheap but building playable fields, erecting nets, training coaches, physios, managers, requires massive investment.

all the top footballing nations barring brazil and argentina (who are both significantly richer than Pakistan) are highly developed economies pumping billions of dollars into the sport.

pak could pump in injustifiably large amounts of money into the sport and get absolutely nowhere on the world stage.

id love to see pak at a world cup, but any strategy needs to be pragmatic. pakistan could start today and still not be even a regionally competitive football nation in 20 or 30 years.

 

[MenInG]

KARACHI: The federal government has decided to establish sports academies in various universities through Higher Education Commission (HEC), The News has learnt on Friday.

The academies, to be set up throughout the country, will provide modern facilities to enhance the abilities of young athletes in various disciplines.

Well informed sources said that the government has finally decided to uplift the country’s standard in such sports as cricket, hockey, football, athletics, boxing, weightlifting, wrestling, squash, volleyball, judo, handball, and skiing.

Sources said that the details of these academies in 13 universities would be announced in a ceremony by the federal government in near future.

Sources said that the existing decades old sports system in the country produced nothing and Pakistani athletes lagged behind a number of developing countries.

Even small countries in Asia and Africa have been able to produce athletes who won medals in international competitions.

Sources said that differences among federations and associations have ruined careers of athletes as many times they are not even able to participate in international competitions.

Pakistan has failed to win medals at South Asian Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian and World Championships where smaller countries have clinched a number of medals.

The sources said that the HEC recently approved the PSDP-funded project titled “Establishment of Kamyab Jawan Sports Academies (High-Performance Centres) and Youth Olympics” which is budgeted for 2021-22.

The objective is to develop world-class sportspersons by providing modern sports education, advanced coaching and training, and focused fitness programmes.

These academies will also be mandated to collaborate with national and international sports organisations to host national and international events, sources mentioned.

The sources added that the talented athletes, both girls and boys, would be given admission into these universities. These academies will have state-of-the-art resource centres, hostels, and modern playing facilities (indoor as well as outdoor).

The following universities have been selected for the academies: International Islamic University, Islamabad (National Academy of Cricket); University of Peshawar (National Academy of Squash and Volleyball); Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan (National Academy of Squash and Volleyball); University of Punjab, Lahore (National Academy of Weightlifting); Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan (National Academy of Hockey); University of Karachi, (National Academy of Football); Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam (National Academy of Judo); Karakoram International University (National Academy of Skiing and Sport Tourism Center); University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (National Academy of Handball); Baluchistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta (National Academy of Athletics); NED University (High Performance Lab-Bio-mechanics and Movement Analysis; Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University, Karachi (National Academy of Boxing), University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore (National Academy of Wrestling).

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/87...s-academies-at-13-universities-across-country

 

[proud_pakistani]

what makes u think football is cheap? yes buying a ball is cheap but building playable fields, erecting nets, training coaches, physios, managers, requires massive investment.

all the top footballing nations barring brazil and argentina (who are both significantly richer than Pakistan) are highly developed economies pumping billions of dollars into the sport.

pak could pump in injustifiably large amounts of money into the sport and get absolutely nowhere on the world stage.

id love to see pak at a world cup, but any strategy needs to be pragmatic. pakistan could start today and still not be even a regionally competitive football nation in 20 or 30 years.

By your thinking any sport would be very costly. My point was its a relatively cheaper sport. If you look at Makhranis who play the sport in Lyari (Karachi) they dont have many facilities. A few grounds which dont even have grass. Ofcourse for us to reach the level of being able to qualify for the World Cup would take decades even with any form of investment. To have any hope that any support will come from the government is dumb. FIFA has already banned us from playing any global tournaments due to the corruption in the PFA. The good thing is there are some passionate people in the country who are doing things like building academies and organizing national level tournaments.

 

[PakLFC]

What about the upliftment of our other national Sport, kabbadi!!))

"Well informed sources said that the government has finally decided to uplift the country’s standard in such sports as cricket, hockey, football, athletics, boxing, weightlifting, wrestling, squash, volleyball, judo, handball, and skiing."

 

[street cricketer]

KARACHI: The federal government has decided to establish sports academies in various universities through Higher Education Commission (HEC), The News has learnt on Friday.

The academies, to be set up throughout the country, will provide modern facilities to enhance the abilities of young athletes in various disciplines.

Well informed sources said that the government has finally decided to uplift the country’s standard in such sports as cricket, hockey, football, athletics, boxing, weightlifting, wrestling, squash, volleyball, judo, handball, and skiing.

Sources said that the details of these academies in 13 universities would be announced in a ceremony by the federal government in near future.

Sources said that the existing decades old sports system in the country produced nothing and Pakistani athletes lagged behind a number of developing countries.

Even small countries in Asia and Africa have been able to produce athletes who won medals in international competitions.

Sources said that differences among federations and associations have ruined careers of athletes as many times they are not even able to participate in international competitions.

Pakistan has failed to win medals at South Asian Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian and World Championships where smaller countries have clinched a number of medals.

The sources said that the HEC recently approved the PSDP-funded project titled “Establishment of Kamyab Jawan Sports Academies (High-Performance Centres) and Youth Olympics” which is budgeted for 2021-22.

The objective is to develop world-class sportspersons by providing modern sports education, advanced coaching and training, and focused fitness programmes.

These academies will also be mandated to collaborate with national and international sports organisations to host national and international events, sources mentioned.

The sources added that the talented athletes, both girls and boys, would be given admission into these universities. These academies will have state-of-the-art resource centres, hostels, and modern playing facilities (indoor as well as outdoor).

The following universities have been selected for the academies: International Islamic University, Islamabad (National Academy of Cricket); University of Peshawar (National Academy of Squash and Volleyball); Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan (National Academy of Squash and Volleyball); University of Punjab, Lahore (National Academy of Weightlifting); Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan (National Academy of Hockey); University of Karachi, (National Academy of Football); Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam (National Academy of Judo); Karakoram International University (National Academy of Skiing and Sport Tourism Center); University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (National Academy of Handball); Baluchistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta (National Academy of Athletics); NED University (High Performance Lab-Bio-mechanics and Movement Analysis; Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University, Karachi (National Academy of Boxing), University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore (National Academy of Wrestling).

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/87...s-academies-at-13-universities-across-country

This is a good move in the right direction.

I wonder if the government is taking the steps to host the next saf games in Lahore. It's been a long time since Pakistan hosted international sporting competitions in their country and some of their non cricket facilities might be outdated and need upgradation to host international games.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I want the youth of Pakistan to watch the race and learn the most important lesson that sports taught me: "you only lose when u give up." <a href="https://t.co/a7UnCvnwSR">pic.twitter.com/a7UnCvnwSR</a></p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1424282908513210374?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[ethan hunt]

Yes.
Should invest in boxing, weightlifting, wrestling, javelin throw, shot putt for the next olympics.
There is enough ability. Having produced the fastest bowler ever to play the game of cricket surely they can produce medal winning javelin throwers at the very least.
A sporting culture along with facilities will do a wofld of good for the country in more ways than one.

 

[Greenstorm]

KARACHI: The federal government has decided to establish sports academies in various universities through Higher Education Commission (HEC), The News has learnt on Friday.

The academies, to be set up throughout the country, will provide modern facilities to enhance the abilities of young athletes in various disciplines.

Well informed sources said that the government has finally decided to uplift the country’s standard in such sports as cricket, hockey, football, athletics, boxing, weightlifting, wrestling, squash, volleyball, judo, handball, and skiing.

Sources said that the details of these academies in 13 universities would be announced in a ceremony by the federal government in near future.

Sources said that the existing decades old sports system in the country produced nothing and Pakistani athletes lagged behind a number of developing countries.

Even small countries in Asia and Africa have been able to produce athletes who won medals in international competitions.

Sources said that differences among federations and associations have ruined careers of athletes as many times they are not even able to participate in international competitions.

Pakistan has failed to win medals at South Asian Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian and World Championships where smaller countries have clinched a number of medals.

The sources said that the HEC recently approved the PSDP-funded project titled “Establishment of Kamyab Jawan Sports Academies (High-Performance Centres) and Youth Olympics” which is budgeted for 2021-22.

The objective is to develop world-class sportspersons by providing modern sports education, advanced coaching and training, and focused fitness programmes.

These academies will also be mandated to collaborate with national and international sports organisations to host national and international events, sources mentioned.

The sources added that the talented athletes, both girls and boys, would be given admission into these universities. These academies will have state-of-the-art resource centres, hostels, and modern playing facilities (indoor as well as outdoor).

The following universities have been selected for the academies: International Islamic University, Islamabad (National Academy of Cricket); University of Peshawar (National Academy of Squash and Volleyball); Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan (National Academy of Squash and Volleyball); University of Punjab, Lahore (National Academy of Weightlifting); Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan (National Academy of Hockey); University of Karachi, (National Academy of Football); Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam (National Academy of Judo); Karakoram International University (National Academy of Skiing and Sport Tourism Center); University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (National Academy of Handball); Baluchistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta (National Academy of Athletics); NED University (High Performance Lab-Bio-mechanics and Movement Analysis; Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University, Karachi (National Academy of Boxing), University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore (National Academy of Wrestling).

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/87...s-academies-at-13-universities-across-country

Its a positive step but I doubt it will bring tangible results.

First off, they should start with investing at school and college level. So by the time an athlete reaches a university (18+), he/she has something to work with.

Second, the 13 selected universities mostly belong to tier 2-3. Mismanagement and corruption is rife in universities situated in Faislabad, Multan, Karachi, Quetta, Mardan etc. Any such investment there will mostly end up in certain bank accounts. Instead, they should focus on tier 1 universities such as LUMS, NUST, GIKI, PIEAS, Bahria, Air, Comsats, FAST, NCA etc.

 

[Major]

I think there are some issues that have to be addressed before we get into this argument.

1. Cricket vs other sports

I dont know why we always see this argument that oh we invest more in cricket and overlook otehr sports.

Let me remind you that no one invests in cricket either. Cricket is not invested at all. PCB is a profit making organization, thus what they make is what they spend. PCB doesn't get any money from Govt of Pakistan. It doesnt use tax money, its an organization that makes money. Infact, its one of those govt organizations that is actually profitable. PCB last time took money from govt back in the 1980s and Osman Samiuddin has confirmed this.

I always hate when people say oh we invest more in cricket and overlook others, PCB has itself become a self sustaining organization.

Thus, please stop making statements that we should not invest in cricket. PCB does everything on its own. PCB gets the sponsors etc by itself. Thus why should PCB stop itself if our other sports boards have failed.

Hockey federation has itself to blame for its failure. PCB has nothing to do with it. PCB self sustains itself and has caused no damage to cricket.

2. Sports = Education

In Canada, through out your schooling, Physical Education is part of your formal education. You have a class for physical education from grade 1 till upto grade 12. Its marks carry same weightage as other sports. Plus, every school has various sports ground and indoor gyms. The sports grounds are shared with public and hte school. No one can be stopped from those grounds.

3. Sports and Opportunity Cost

If Pakistan wants to do good in sports, they need to finish this concept of opportunity cost. In Pakistan you could either go into sports or go for formal education. Both cannot be done. The reason for that is the sports clubs and academies ask you to spend more than 6-8 hours with them. Which is just plain wrong.

If Pakistan gets physical education a part of our edducation than we could have sports and education compliment each other. But for this to happened, we need an overhaul of our education system. The examination system be it FSC, Matric or even the o and a level are a big joke. THey required a whole year of cramming for only to give an exam after 1 year and be judged against that.

Sports education can only exists in a education system where you have course work so that you can be judged each week or after 2 weeks.

I played shotput, track and field in Canada for 2 years as part of our physical education. I never played these sports in Pakistan education system.

In our Education system, we have a sports period where the sports teacher will make you do jumping jacks and than after those jumping jacks he throws you a ball and say go play around in the field.

I see people play volleyball in punjab. Volleyball is not even an out door sport. You can play this sport outdoor. But Volleyball is a sport that needs walls, because you improve by practicing against the wall.

In Canada, they teach you volleyball in a very basic banner like where to stand when attackingn and wheret to stand when defending.


4. Sports corruption.

Alot of posters mentioned universities and how universities are going to have such clubs etc.

Let me tell you what happens in university. The so called sports qouta is actually the nepotism qouta. Many of our villiage people who have students who want to go to University, what they do is they contact their local MPA or MNA, who than promise they will get them into a university. Now how they get these people into University is throught the sports qouta. You just need to know how to play a sport at a very very very basic level, and the MNA will get you a seat in the university on that sports qouta.

You dont have to be good.

If you want to get into a university on sports qouta, than Badminton is the easiet way. You dont have to be good just know how to hold racquet and you get a place in the uni. AFter that whether you perform or not doesnt matter.


These are the basic problems that we face and need to be addressed. Problem is, now Usman Buzdar saab probably saw Arshad make good throws. WHat he will do is that oh lets fund sports. He will write a cheque and do some ribbon cutting ceremony at a sports club or at a university that has a newly build sports society and thats about it.
Than later they will claim we have invested in sports.

The situation is soo bad in Pakistan, people dont even know that we originally had 11 people going to the olympics. The one guy who couldn't go was because his horse died twice and the Pakistani govt never planned on buying a back up horse.

 

[MenInG]

Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Fehmida Mirza is not satisfied with the attention being given to the sports sector in Pakistan.

Nothing is spent on our players as compared to the world," she said on Monday.

Mirza emphasised on the need for a sports policy in Pakistan and said funding is needed for sports. After the 18th Amendment, sports is a provincial matter, she said adding that the training of athletes is the responsibility of the provinces.

She said the federation, provinces and private sectors have to play their role. The Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) is interfering with and controlling every matter which is not their job, she said, adding that the POA is not allowing the government to play its role.

The sports sector is damaged due to the weaknesses of the system, she said, adding that many things were being done under the guise of the International Olympic Charter, which had harmed the sports sector.

Mirza said it is the responsibility of the education department to ensure sports activity and called on all units to play their role.

On the performance and role of the government in developing the sports sector, Mirza commented that the government is "doing a lot" but that it is so "widespread" that it goes unnoticed.

GEO

 

[mustang]

I think the nation's cricket obsession is hurting every other sport in the country, it already killed field hockey & racquetball (squash) - two sports Pakistan achieved immense success in. Looking at these olympic games and Pakistan's absence for the most part, it's kind of disappointing this is the same tale every 4 years. Right now 4 of the top 5 countries on the medals table are Asian and quite of few Arab countries have achieved success, I see no reason why Pakistan can't compete if there was a rigorous Olympic program but no one at the top in Pakistan's govt has any interest, unlike the Soviets & Chinese who believed in the importance of success at the games for their national reputation & pride - Pakistanis think they can gain world respect by posting travel vlogs and showing tourists the best artery clogging joints in the country

Even though Pakistan's Prime Minister was a former professional athlete, other than focusing on advancing cricket across the country, Khan hasn't even mentioned any plans on improving the state of other sports in Pakistan, they haven't done anything in the past 3 years for Tokyo and Paris 2024 is just around the corner so we can expect more of the same mediocrity. I think their best bet is to focus on developing a program for every sport at LA 2028 and every Asian & Commonwealth games in during that period, without long term planning Pakistan will forever a minnow nation at every international sports event.

It could be a bit more nuanced than just a decision to spend.

#1 - Someone just shared a stat in another thread that 44% of kids are out of school in Pakistan. This if staying course is devastating to your economy in the future (less knowledge capital), devolution of the society, more backwards thinking for future generations etc. So if you control Pakistan's budget where will you allocate your precious few resources (after all the usual military/political stakeholders take their cuts)? Education or sports?

#2 - Let's assume you juggle priorities and do make a decision to invest money into sports. This presents another scenario. You need comparable investments to at least stay on par with the competition let alone defeating them unless your demographic group has genetic advantages in certain sports (Kenyan long distance runners, Jamaican sprinters, central Asian wrestlers etc). Assuming South Asians hold no major genetic advantage in current olympic sports it is purely a function of competing through money - who can channel more dollars into infrastructure, coaching, talent scouting+development in an efficient manner.

#3 - Given that medals is mostly a function of efficient (not usurped by corrupt officials) spending of money based on #2 above, Pakistan faces another conundrum. Matching the spending from other competitors in the specific sport you target, many of whom have head starts even as poor countries (think South American countries in soccer). So you have to spend more than they do from what little money you can muster from Pakistan's budget (diverted from other pressing priorities mind you) in order to play catch up.

At this point it becomes a pressing question is it worth going through all of that for a vanity metric? Even if it is, then the best strategy countries like Pakistan have is the equivalent of "Moneyball" (excellent book and movie) approach if it is even possible. On top of spending some level of money in a sport find avenues to excel that are not yet explored by your competitors and hence are more cost effective (really easier said than done unfortunately).

 

[MenInG]

On Saturday, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem almost bagged an Olympic medal in the final of men's javelin throw competition but ended up finishing fifth, whereas India's Neeraj Chopra claimed gold. Similarly, weight lifting champion Talha Talib fell two kilograms short of history at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on July 25.

Thus, several have taken to Twitter in the past week to urge Pakistan’s relevant authorities and sports associations to support and pay extra attention to athletes and sportsmen like Nadeem and Talib, so their talents can be honed. Among these people was actor Adnan Siddiqui, who took to Twitter to share the tragic example of the late Olympian-turned-rickshaw driver Muhammad Ashiq, who passed away in Lahore in 2018 after being ignored and let down by his own country.

“The hypocrisy of making them heroes when they bring medals and leaving them to live a life of misery,” lamented Siddiqui on the micro-blogging site with a picture of the late cyclist who had to resort to driving a rikshaw after retiring. “These champs are our pride, our responsibility. Take care of our stars!” he added.

Ashiq competed in the Rome Olympics in 1960 in the Men's sprint 1,000m time trial at the age of 25. Four years later, in the Tokyo Olympics, he participated in the individual pursuit 4,000m and team pursuit 4,000m event. Although he did not win any Olympic medals, Ashiq did win laurels at the Asian Games. He also represented Pakistan Railways at national competitions before retiring from the sport.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Imran Khan ironically shared a motivational TikTok video on Twitter for the athletes of the country, despite TikTok being banned in Pakistan. And naturally, many felt he could do more than provide motivation.

The same day, actor Mehwish Hayat also tweeted saying, “I hope that Arshad Nadeem’s success provides the ‘catalyst’ we need to invest in our talent. This needs to start in schools where sports need to be made an integral part of the curriculum. This cannot – like everything else – be a flash in the pan. Time to seize the moment!”

 

[Firebat]

Boxer Waseem eyes medal at Paris 2024

KARACHI: Saddened by another empty-handed return of Pakistan’s contingent from Tokyo Olympics the country’s premier professional boxer Mohammad Waseem has vowed that he would end the decades-long Olympics medal-drought for the country in the 2024 Paris Games.

“I am really sad that Pakistan again returned empty-handed from the Olympics. I have now decided to break the medal drought of the country by featuring in the next Olympics in Paris in 2024,” Waseem told ‘The News’ in an interview.

“I am going to play the world title shot in the next few months and after winning the crown I will switch over to amateur boxing. I will have at least two years and I plan to make a huge effort to bring Pakistan back on the Olympic medal podium,” the former two-time WBC world silver flyweight champion said.

“But one thing should be remembered. I will train for one year in Cuba. Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) will have to back me,” said Waseem, the 2014 Incheon Asian Games bronze medallist.

“Look, US professional boxers won medals in Tokyo and so I also can win medal for Pakistan in the next Olympics,” he said. He said that he could get a medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics but nobody backed him which forced him to turn professional. “The year 2014 was a good one for me as an amateur boxer. I won silver in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and bronze in the Incheon Asian Games. After that I requested the then sitting federation to give me arrange training for me on foreign soil so that I could train for the Olympics qualifiers but nobody listened to me. I was in top shape. Had I been given the required facilities of training on foreign soil I could have stayed in the amateur circuit and won a medal for Pakistan in Rio,” Waseem recalled.

Pakistan last featured in Olympic boxing competitions in 2004 in Athens. Waseem appreciated the efforts of weightlifter Talha Talib and javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem who did a glorious job to finish at fifth positions in their respective events. “Arshad is a good player but I feel he looked under pressure in the finals and that affected his performance,” said Waseem, also a bronze medallist of the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Waseem in 2012 had created a chance for Pakistan to qualify for 2012 London Olympics but the Quetta-born fighter fell in the quarter-finals in the Asian Qualifiers held in Astana. Had he won that bout he could have featured in the London Olympics.

Since he joined professional boxing, Pakistan has been helpless in the sport in international circuit. During the last few years boxing has been destroyed because of lack of foreign tours. The country’s talented boxers have started turning professional.

Waseem said that Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) should take action against those people holding events in the name of professional fights. “These fights should be discouraged. They are of no use and will hugely affect Pakistan’s amateur boxing,” he said.

Waseem is not happy with the way sports are being handled by the PTI government. “We were thinking that Imran Khan, being a sportsman, would bring a sports revolution but it is unfortunate that under his watch sports slumped even further,” Waseem said.

“Khan sahib should know that Olympic sports are much tougher. It’s not cricket which is played in a few countries. I don’t rate cricket as a sport. It is just a fun game. It is a lot more difficult to qualify for the Olympics in sports like athletics and boxing. Huge investment is needed to develop an athlete and make him capable of qualifying for the Olympics and winning a medal there,” Waseem said.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/875859-waseem-eyes-medal-at-paris-2024

 

[MenInG]

Prime Minister Imran Khan has summoned a meeting with Sports minister Dr Fehmida Mirza to take a stock of country’s Olympic debacle were 10 athletes finished a medal-less campaign.

Javelin thrower, Arshad Nadeem and weightlifter, Talha Talib however put up an impressive show with top five finishes in their respective disciplines.

“The PM will now pay attention to the sports structure in the country in the remaining two years of the government as he wants the youth to excel in other sports as well as in cricket and present a soft image of the country,” Federal Minister Asad Umar told ARY news.

Government insiders say that the PM had taken a renewed interest in the state of affairs in sports after neighbours India produced its best performance with seven medals including a gold by javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra.

Asad said it was true that in the three years of governance, the PM and cabinet had not been able to pay that much attention to sports because of the manifold issues confronting the country.

“But now even the PM wants things to improve and there is a plan to build a modern day sports institute in the country,” he said.

Mirza appearing on another channel blamed the NOC (National Olympic Committee) for the sad state of affairs in sports in Pakistan.

But when asked why the Pakistan Sports Board the state owned institution which governs sports in the country had returned nearly 440 million rupees to the government in the fiscal year without utilizing them for sports and athletes, she had no convincing reply.

She maintained that the sports ministry wanted all national federations and the olympic committee to agree to a uniform sports policy and be accountable for their actions.

“We have asked all national federations to give a proper action plan for their sports only after which they will get grants and funds for training their athletes and sending them abroad or holding events.”

The minister said that the government gives 1000 million rupees annually to the PSB out of which 40 percent is spent on salaries and non-development expenses while the rest is to be spent on athletes and infrastructure.

Arshad and Talha are both home trained athletes in their make-shift facilities to prepare for the Olympic with no proper coaches being made available to them.

https://indianexpress.com/article/s...ke-stock-of-countrys-olympic-debacle-7448744/

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD / KARACHI / LAHORE: The government wants to revive Pakistan’s sporting fortunes, starting with asking the country’s Olympic chief to leave his post.

The demand came from Shahbaz Gill, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, at a news conference held at the Press Information Department on Friday, asking retired Lt Gen Arif Hasan to resign as the Pakistan Olympic Asso*ciation (POA) president, a post he’s held since 2004.

Pakistan have failed to win an Olympic medal since 1992, the drought now extending to 2024 after no medal was won at the recently-concluded Tokyo Olympics during which a blame-game ensued between the POA and the Pakistan Sports Board regarding the preparation of athletes.

And after a meeting was held under the chairmanship of the prime minister to discuss the Olympic showing on Friday, it was decided that the only way that drought is to end was to ask Mr Arif to quit.

“We cannot tolerate further embarrassment in sports,” Mr Gill told reporters, flanked by Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Fehmida Mirza and PSB director-general retired Col Mohammad Asif Zaman. “And on behalf of the nation, I will ask POA president to resign.”

Mr Gill said that POA had no accountability during Mr Arif’s reign during the last 17 years, adding that the government would not hold back from taking action now.

Fehmida Mirza echoed Shahbaz Gill’s demand.

“What we’ve seen over the years is that one personality is above everyone, above the law, above the government and has become untouchable,” she told Dawn following the news conference.

“After becoming POA chief, Arif changed its constitution, removing the prime minister as its patron and hence there was never any accountability during his term. He also added hand-picked members as independent voters so he can cling on to his post.”

Ms Fehmida added that the POA had consistently absolved itself of responsibility of developing sports in the country.

In the past, there have been attempts to force the ouster of Mr Arif but pressure from the International Olympic Committee, which does not allow for political or government interference in the matters of its member organisations, saw the government back down.

The POA has for long claimed that its duty is to monitor the observance of the Olympic charter and the World Anti-Doping Agency code in Pakistan.

Following the news conference in Islamabad, it held an emergency meeting in Lahore to decide its stance. It did not immediately send out a press statement but Dawn has learnt that it will write a letter to the prime minister, asking for an opportunity to brief him.

“We will be holding a news conference on Tuesday to reply to today’s presser,” POA general secretary Khalid Mahmood told Dawn on Friday. “We’re also calling an emergency general council meeting within 15 days.”

The POA will also inform the prime minister that Mr Arif was elected through a fair process in 2019, with representatives from the IOC and the Olympic Council of Asia also in attendance. It will also reiterate that interference in its matters will lead to intervention by the IOC.

The threat of action and possible suspension from the IOC was discussed during the meeting with the prime minister, sources said. Currently, Pakistan is suspended by global football body FIFA after a court-elected body seized control of the Pakistan Football Federation headquarters from the FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee.

Sources told Dawn that also in attendance at that meeting were Athletics Federation of Pakistan president retired Maj Gen Akram Sahi, who twice contested and failed in his bid for the POA presidency, Pakistan Hockey Federation secretary Asif Bajwa and former PFF general secretary retired Col Mujahid Tareen.

Squash great Jansher Khan was also invited but couldn’t attend.

Among the 10 athletes who took part in the Olympics, only javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem and weightlifter Talha Talib came close to winning a medal. Both finished fifth in their respective disciplines.

Ms Mirza said the government wanted to improve “sports governance in the country and bring transparency”.

“We’ve been pushing on the implementation of a national sports policy but it is Arif who’s been resisting it. We want the federations to be accountable but they don’t want to do that. How can we revive sports when things are the way they are?” she questioned.

She added that the POA was also putting hurdles in forming the National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO). The AFP is currently suspended by the POA after three athletes tested positive for banned substances during the 2019 South Asian Games.

“The POA wants to have its own doctor to be heading NADO,” alleged Fehmida, before going further and blaming Pakistan Army and Wapda for the country’s sporting decline.

“The athletes who tested positive were from those two departments. They are the biggest supporters of Arif and instead of taking action against them, it’s the AFP which is being victimized.”

Fehmida also said that the POA obliges its supporters by sending them to the Olympics as coaches.

“The Pakistan Badminton Federation secretary was there in Tokyo as the coach of Mahoor Shahzad, while the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation president travelled as the coach of Talha,” she said, adding that sprinter Najma Parveen was sent to the Olympics without the consent of AFP.

“The AFP didn’t want to send Najma and had informed us that she wasn’t fit to participate but she was sent to oblige her coach.”

During the Games, the POA blamed Pakistan’s poor performance on the PSB returning unutilized funds amounting to Rs440million back to the finance ministry.

It said that those funds could have been used in preparation of athletes who were due to take part at the Games and also alleged that the IPC did not send any summary to the prime minister to get funds for Olympic preparations.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2021

 

[MenInG]

KARACHI: Pakistan Olympics Association (POA)’s president, Lieutenant-General (ret.) Syed Arif Hasan said they are not responsible for sports development in the country.

Speaking in ARY News’ show ‘Sports Room‘, Hassan said POA’s job is to promote Olympianism and protect the Olympic charter.

“It is very clear that POA is not responsible for sports development in the country and we don’t get funds for it,” he stated.

“Pakistan Sports Board (PSB)’s website defines their role which is ‘to promote and develop standards of national fitness as well as standards of competition, comparable to the International standards’. Our role is simple, to promote Olympianism and protect the Olympic charter,” he clarified.

Hassan gave examples of other countries around the world that how they invest in their athletes. “No country has an Olympic committee developing athletes for international competitions. See an example of India, their government invested in each athlete to prepare them for Olympics, their national Olympic committee is not responsible for it,” he highlighted.

Response to IPC Minister Fehmida Mirza

Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC), Fehmida claimed in an interview with ARY News that POA didn’t hold themselves accountable.

While replying to this claim, Hassan said people should come up with proof of their claims. “See, we have had cooperated with everyone in this regard. If someone is saying that we don’t give answers, they should come up with proof that when and where we didn’t cooperate with them,” he replied.

“We are ready to cooperate anytime but we will not violate the constitution which can hurt games and athletes in the country,” he mainatained.

Lack of system

The POA’s president accepted that there is no proper system to develop athletes for international contests. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any proper system to develop athletes. There are no sports activities at the school and community level which is a real concern. We need to work together to mend things right from grassroots,” he said.

“I hope that government’s ‘Kamyab Pakistan Program’ will establish a better system to produce quality athletes in the country,” he concluded.

ARY

 

[Ashraful_Rox]

I think Pakistan should invest more in wrestling, Pakistanis are genetically as strong as Afghans so I see a bright future in WWE and Ufc.

 

[street cricketer]

“Pakistan Sports Board (PSB)’s website defines their role which is ‘to promote and develop standards of national fitness as well as standards of competition, comparable to the International standards’. Our role is simple, to promote Olympianism and protect the Olympic charter,” he clarified.

What's "Olympianism"?

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: Criticising the Pakistan Olympic Association for the country’s pathetic show in the recent-held Tokyo Olympics, the executive committee of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) on Friday urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to take up the matter in order to save Pakistan sports from further decline.

The meeting agreed that the name of Pakistan would be used only by those who followed the government’s guidelines.

Fehmida Mirza, the Federal Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination (IPC) Ministry and PSB president, presided over the executive committee meeting in Islamabad.

“The meeting also discussed the poor performance of the POA at the Tokyo Olympics,” read a press release issued by the IPC Ministry.

It added that the meeting participants showed their concern over the POA delegation sent to Tokyo Olympics. “The POA is responsible for [the] mismanagement at the Tokyo Olympics.”

In view of Pakistan’s alarming decline in international sports, the participants emphasised that the matter of POA’s performance should be taken up Prime Minister Imran Khan.

During the meeting it was informed that no performance audit of the POA had been done, the release added.

Expressing their concern, the participants said that there was an urgent need for Pakistan to devise a unified national sports policy.

“Can’t go the old way now,” the press release said.

Here it is relevant to note that the executive committee has no POA representation and it is headed by IPC minister and comprises DG PSB, IPC secretary, joint secretary and an official of Nespak.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2021