Why is Pakistan exceptionally poor in Olympics/Asian Games/CWG games?

[Bhaijaan]

Pakistan is a big country. They are among the select few nuclear powers. They are also great in many popular sports in the world. In hockey amd cricket Pakistan has been a big name and has won many global tournaments as well. Even in Tennis their players have been good in doubles like Indian players. In squash they totally dominated. Pakistani origin boxers have also earned a name for themselves.

But when it comes to these mega events likr Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth games Pakistan are always lingering at the bottom.

Why is it like that and do Pakistanis not care?

India's been pathetic as well for its size but there has been a huge pressure from the people to see more medal winning athletes and things have improved a bit although not dramatically.

 

[shariqnoor]

A lot of it has to do with the fact that almost all sports nowadays have become scientific. Talent which used to play about 90% of its part in the 70's-80's-early 90's now plays only about 30-40%.

If you compete on talent alone and nothing else, Pakistan will be near the very top even now as Pakistanis generally have been blessed with natural talent. However gone are the days when talent alone would bring you success.

This is the 21st century and with the rapid advent of technology, players in any sport are able to analyze their opponent's weaknesses and exploit them to their own maximum advantage. This wasn't the case in the 70's-80's-early 90's. Couple this with scientific advancements in diets, fitness regimes have gone several notches higher to those ever seen in the previous millennium.

Take cricket for example. In the 80's almost every team had guys that were obese and would never make it to the team in 2018. There were guys like David Boon, Arjuna Ranatunga, Mike Gatting who played primarily on talent. They would not survive in 2018 because of their poor fitness. When this was the case, it was easier for Pakistan to compete with them on talent alone. But now when you add technology and fitness to the mix, Pakistanis lag far behind. We have improved a lot in cricket and have adopted the latest trends but that's because cricket is now the only professional sport we have in the country. For other sports, Pakistan still operates on that talent principle while the world has moved far far ahead.

India was the same pre-2000. But after its economic boom, money was invested into many sports and results are there to see for India. So until and unless Pakistan becomes strong on the economic front and averages 7-8% GDP growth per year for the next 10 years, we will continue to see shoddy performances in global sporting events because we don't have the money to invest in new technological trends in sports other than cricket.

 

[Greenstorm]

Pakistan and India were at similar level in Olympics and Asian games uptil 1990. After that our institutions deteriorated while India started improving in different fields and sporting achievments are just a reflection of that.

 

[Greenstorm]

A lot of it has to do with the fact that almost all sports nowadays have become scientific. Talent which used to play about 90% of its part in the 70's-80's-early 90's now plays only about 30-40%.

If you compete on talent alone and nothing else, Pakistan will be near the very top even now as Pakistanis generally have been blessed with natural talent. However gone are the days when talent alone would bring you success.

This is the 21st century and with the rapid advent of technology, players in any sport are able to analyze their opponent's weaknesses and exploit them to their own maximum advantage. This wasn't the case in the 70's-80's-early 90's. Couple this with scientific advancements in diets, fitness regimes have gone several notches higher to those ever seen in the previous millennium.

Take cricket for example. In the 80's almost every team had guys that were obese and would never make it to the team in 2018. There were guys like David Boon, Arjuna Ranatunga, Mike Gatting who played primarily on talent. They would not survive in 2018 because of their poor fitness. When this was the case, it was easier for Pakistan to compete with them on talent alone. But now when you add technology and fitness to the mix, Pakistanis lag far behind. We have improved a lot in cricket and have adopted the latest trends but that's because cricket is now the only professional sport we have in the country. For other sports, Pakistan still operates on that talent principle while the world has moved far far ahead.

India was the same pre-2000. But after its economic boom, money was invested into many sports and results are there to see for India. So until and unless Pakistan becomes strong on the economic front and averages 7-8% GDP growth per year for the next 10 years, we will continue to see shoddy performances in global sporting events because we don't have the money to invest in new technological trends in sports other than cricket.

Agreed 100%. Pakistan recently made a basic move in three sports( Cricket-Hockey-Volleyball) and that is to appoint accomplished foreign coaches and as a consequence our performances have improved in these three sports.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Is their media/public pressure regarding winning more medals in world events?

I remember some official carrying Pakistan's flag in some games instead of a player. Would have been a huge issue in Indian media.

Pakistan should focus on medal winners rather than just sending a large contigent for participation sake only. Send few athletes train them with best facilities.

Also money alone is not . Smart investment and dedication means a lot.

Wrestling and boxing have flourished in India in recent years not because of money alone. Lot of passion about sports has developed in some parts of India. Dangal movie gave a glipmse of efforts made by people themselves at the lowest levels.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Asian Games

Pakistan 34/37 in the table

Only above Afghanistan, Syria, Myanmar

3 bronze medals

 

[BlackShadow]

I remember researching this in other thread, Pakistan are spending a good amount as their sports budget too. As a country of 200 million people, their budget was almost 70% of India's or maybe more (someone confirm this for me please). Where is all that money going?

 

[Musakhel]

Money Argument is a cop out, Iran, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are not economic powerhouses but they concentrate on a select number of disaplines and win in them.

 

[Bhaijaan]

India also needs to focus on medal gold medal probables. No point sending a huge contingent if you dont expect a lot of gold medals.

 

[BlackShadow]

India also needs to focus on medal gold medal probables. No point sending a huge contingent if you dont expect a lot of gold medals.

India is doing that, haven't sent their football squad and some other athletes because they had no hopes of winning a medal. There was a lot of controversy around the decision, but I think that's fair.

 

[Wonderwoman]

India also needs to focus on medal gold medal probables. No point sending a huge contingent if you dont expect a lot of gold medals.

India's performance has been very good so far except for the heart breaking shockers in Kabaddi, a few misfires in shooting and some wrestling failures.

 

[Majid Khan]

My view on this is that being successful at Olympics sports for individuals requires a lot more than just being blessed with talent. It takes a certain mindset, determination, courage, self-discipline, patience, motivation and a lot of hard work in a nutshell.

Unfortunately there are no shortcuts and you can't just get away with talent but you genuinely need to have the belief and desire to be the best you can be, so that probably rules out a significant majority.

Pakistani cricketers will be content at moderate success, but to win an Olympics gold medal you have to keep improving and aim to be the best whatever sacrifices that takes.

 

[gani999]

Why pull up Pakistan? India must hang its head in shame that even Uzbekistan, Chinese Taipei and Iran have managed more gold medals. We are only just better than North Korea.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Why pull up Pakistan? India must hang its head in shame that even Uzbekistan, Chinese Taipei and Iran have managed more gold medals. We are only just better than North Korea.

Stop being a negative lallooo.

This thread is not made to humiliate Pakistan in sports but to understand why things are the way they are. India's struggles are well known too and discussed in details among Indians. This is to learn about Pakistan.

 

[Bhaijaan]

India's performance has been very good so far except for the heart breaking shockers in Kabaddi, a few misfires in shooting and some wrestling failures.

Not as per expectations. India should have had 20 gold medals.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

In Pakistan, there is nothing such as hardwork anymore.

Most of the people are running around looking for shortcuts and that is something that was not the case back in the 70's, 80's and early 90's.

People used to work hard, had the courage and the determination to do their absolute best no matter how little resources they had to do so. Nowadays it is just about trying to look a certain way without having to do much at all.

 

[hamzi]

I remember researching this in other thread, Pakistan are spending a good amount as their sports budget too. As a country of 200 million people, their budget was almost 70% of India's or maybe more (someone confirm this for me please). Where is all that money going?

Thats actually not true...in some of the sports indias budget is over a 100 times that of pakistanis. Most of the Pakistani federations have an annual budget of around $50,000 which includes coaches, training,events and everything including players and officials salaries. The reason pakistan is not at the business end of the medal tables is simply because they dont have the funds to invest on their athletes. Due to this out athletes hardly participate in any events other than the asian games, commonwealth games etc. On most of the occasions the athletes spend from their own pockets to just participate in world events. There are so many athletes who i can name who if invested properly on can win medals regularly.

 

[BlackShadow]

Thats actually not true...in some of the sports indias budget is over a 100 times that of pakistanis. Most of the Pakistani federations have an annual budget of around $50,000 which includes coaches, training,events and everything including players and officials salaries. The reason pakistan is not at the business end of the medal tables is simply because they dont have the funds to invest on their athletes. Due to this out athletes hardly participate in any events other than the asian games, commonwealth games etc. On most of the occasions the athletes spend from their own pockets to just participate in world events. There are so many athletes who i can name who if invested properly on can win medals regularly.

Check this story out, is it true? It says Pakistan's sports budget for 2017-18 was PKR 30 billion, which should be something like USD 243 million.
https://dnd.com.pk/rs-3044-157-million-allocated-for-sports-in-psdp-2017-18/130008

I mention this because India's sport budget for the same period was only $273 million.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...iked-by-rs-351-crore/articleshow/56915706.cms

So, India's sporting bodies are getting nearly a similar amount for a population that is 6 times larger. Then how can some Indian sporting federations be having x100 budget? Doesn't make sense, correct me if I am missing something.

 

[PakLFC]

Other then perhaps Hockey Pak doesn't play any other Sport they play in the Olympics locally. Can't expect them to excel at a Sport they never play at home.

 

[hamzi]

Check this story out, is it true? It says Pakistan's sports budget for 2017-18 was PKR 30 billion, which should be something like USD 243 million.
https://dnd.com.pk/rs-3044-157-million-allocated-for-sports-in-psdp-2017-18/130008

I mention this because India's sport budget for the same period was only $273 million.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...iked-by-rs-351-crore/articleshow/56915706.cms

So, India's sporting bodies are getting nearly a similar amount for a population that is 6 times larger. Then how can some Indian sporting federations be having x100 budget? Doesn't make sense, correct me if I am missing something.

These are for "projects" and "schemes" which never happen.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1301067
https://nation.com.pk/04-Jun-2016/sports-neglected-again-in-federal-budget

Articles like these are more close to reality. Notice the 53 million rupees for 38 federations and it explains my point. To give you an example Pakistans Wrestling budget is Rs 1.8m while Indias Wrestling budget is around Rs 500m. Most of the federations cant even hire foreign coaches because their monthly salaries are over the annual budget for the related sport.

 

[ChuckLee]

Simple.
They ain’t good enough. Pakistan has poor athletes.

 

[thelandofthebravepeople]

Not enough cash investment.

 

[Bhaijaan]

The money thing just sounds sad because there are many countries out there who aren’t doing any better than Pakistan economically but skinny way better at sports. Also Pakistan isn’t exactly a poor nation. It’s a big nation with a lot of resources. They can surely make better use of the investments. Are the funds even reaching the players that’s the question. In India that’s been the issue. Money is there but it hasn’t reached the sportsmen effectively. Too much corruption. Government gives funds to schools for sports but they just loot it and spend nothing on the kids training facilities.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Nepal is ahead of Pakistan in medals tally. With all due respect to Nepal they are a nothing nation in front of mighty Pakistan.

 

[Greenstorm]

The money thing just sounds sad because there are many countries out there who aren’t doing any better than Pakistan economically but skinny way better at sports. Also Pakistan isn’t exactly a poor nation. It’s a big nation with a lot of resources. They can surely make better use of the investments. Are the funds even reaching the players that’s the question. In India that’s been the issue. Money is there but it hasn’t reached the sportsmen effectively. Too much corruption. Government gives funds to schools for sports but they just loot it and spend nothing on the kids training facilities.

No, there is too much corruption and players are not being paid adequately. Our hockey team threatened to boycott Asian games because there dues were not being paid. Then due to media pressure, hockey federation had to pay them.

 

[BlackShadow]

Nepal is ahead of Pakistan in medals tally. With all due respect to Nepal they are a nothing nation in front of mighty Pakistan.

Nepalis eat healthier and are more athletic, so makes sense.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Nepalis eat healthier and are more athletic, so makes sense.

Pakistan is a beef eating country. They eat protein rich diet.

 

[BlackShadow]

Pakistan is a beef eating country. They eat protein rich diet.

Three factors -

1) Dal-bhat >> beef cooked in litres of ghee.
2) Gorkhas --> Pound for pound, they wipe floor for with most mainland Desis. Will dominate most lower-weight divisions.
3) Yak milk --> I can vouch for this. Go to Nepali foothills and see how thick people's bone structure is. That's yak milk!

 

[BlackShadow]

Three factors -

1) Dal-bhat >> beef cooked in litres of ghee.
2) Gorkhas --> Pound for pound, they wipe floor for with most mainland Desis. Will dominate most lower-weight divisions.
3) Yak milk --> I can vouch for this. Go to Nepali foothills and see how thick people's bone structure is. That's yak milk!

Correction - Not most, but ALL.

 

[enkidu_]

Lack of funds/investments.

In order to curb extremism, which was growing among the North Caucasian youth in the 90s, the Russian state decided to mobilize their spirit into sports, and nowadays Chechens/Daghestanis give the best wrestlers/MMA fighters per capita in the world.

Pakistan and Afg have many such martial races which can be capitalized if the infrastructure is good.

In fact just look at the boxing personalities produced by Brit-Pak (many world-level champions, incl. of course the best known, Amir Khan), who are some 1.2 million, as compared to the home country, nearly two hundred times more numerous. It's because in the UK the working class/lower middle class can invest into such sports whereas there's no such thing on a grassroots level in Pak. In Pak, like many Third World countries, forget about the working class, even the urbane upper middle class don't seriously think about sports, which is only changing now.

This issue can be addressed now but will produce results only in a generation (15-20 years time), like the Chinese did during their Olympic isolation, by scooting the talent at early age and "sponsoring" it (so out of 1000s of talented kids in all fields, you're bound to get medals).

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Simple.
They ain’t good enough. Pakistan has poor athletes.

Thanks Einstein, but that was already implied in the OP, your job was to answer the question why.

I would say off the top of my head, the following issues are a problem: lack of interest, lack of professional sports culture, lack of facilities. Cricket is the only sport which is taken seriously in Pakistan, and the Pakistan cricketers are probably among the least professional in the world when it comes to practice, fitness and diet.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Three factors -

1) Dal-bhat >> beef cooked in litres of ghee.
2) Gorkhas --> Pound for pound, they wipe floor for with most mainland Desis. Will dominate most lower-weight divisions.
3) Yak milk --> I can vouch for this. Go to Nepali foothills and see how thick people's bone structure is. That's yak milk!

Nobody will stand up when Bhaijaan rockbottoms them.

Fact.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Because of poor system.

Even the athlete Arshad who won the medal trained in Mauratius.

 

[Slog]

honestly no one in Pakistan even cares

i didnt even know there were Asian games going on

 

[Varun]

honestly no one in Pakistan even cares

i didnt even know there were Asian games going on

Wow is there any other post emblematic of sour grapes?

 

[CricketCartoons]

Wow is there any other post emblematic of sour grapes?

Don't think that was sour grapes, but the answer to the question by OP. Apathy.

 

[Slog]

Wow is there any other post emblematic of sour grapes?

Lol really is that your interpretation... Seems like someone is getting a bit too touchy

I was saying it pretty genuinely. No one in Pakistan cares about these games pretty much. Olympics gets some attention due to global nature.

 

[Mamoon]

Wow is there any other post emblematic of sour grapes?

It is not an excuse for our pathetic performance, but he is right. There is practically zero interest in Pakistan when it comes to these events. I personally cannot stand them for 5 mins.

 

[Eagle_Eye]

answer is lack of availability of sports facilities but more importantly, scientific use of performance enhancing drugs be it legal or illegal.

Ever since PEDs became widespread in Indian sports, they have started to do better. But it's not as precise or scientific as some other countries, who are almost always near the top of the table. Mo Farrah goes from good to unbeatable after he moved to Oregon to train with Salazar....

No matter what India or Pakistan do, unless they catch up with other countries in regards to PEDs, they will always be nowhere.

Entire Spanish sport went up a notch in the 2000s... then we came to know if the drugs scandal... and Spanish sport has somewhat now faded comparatively.

Look at British cycling... team sky.... then you begin to understand that to have winners, you need an army of innovative scientists behind you.

 

[Wonderwoman]

answer is lack of availability of sports facilities but more importantly, scientific use of performance enhancing drugs be it legal or illegal.

Ever since PEDs became widespread in Indian sports, they have started to do better. But it's not as precise or scientific as some other countries, who are almost always near the top of the table. Mo Farrah goes from good to unbeatable after he moved to Oregon to train with Salazar....

No matter what India or Pakistan do, unless they catch up with other countries in regards to PEDs, they will always be nowhere.

Entire Spanish sport went up a notch in the 2000s... then we came to know if the drugs scandal... and Spanish sport has somewhat now faded comparatively.

Look at British cycling... team sky.... then you begin to understand that to have winners, you need an army of innovative scientists behind you.

you cant win jack and simply call everyone else cheats..... shame bro shame

 

[troodon]

Desis have poor genetics when it comes to sports.

We are not naturally athletic. Better sports infrastructure can improve the performance.

 

[BlackShadow]

Desis have poor genetics when it comes to sports.

We are not naturally athletic. Better sports infrastructure can improve the performance.

There is no "we" in multi-ethnic societies. Poor girls from North East villages are surpassing world's best with whatever infrastructure they have, and then there are examples of Haryanvi kids eyeing Gold in the next Olympics, not for shooting or archery, but for events such as Javelin and Wrestling.

I think the real tragedy for India (and I guess Pakistan as well) has been all the sporting infrastructure and facilities going to the "politically important" weaklings, while the states capable of producing world class athletes have been neglected completely, not just from a sporting perspective, but in every way possible.

 

[enkidu_]

Desis have poor genetics when it comes to sports.

We are not naturally athletic. Better sports infrastructure can improve the performance.

There's no "Desi genetics", India is a multi ethnic country, and "genetics" don't mean "athletics" either.

Had you gone on the genetics talks when India got its independence in '47 you would have never bet on China to get medals in the upcoming decades. In fact, back then, no economist rated the "yellow nations" (that's literally what French economists used to say) to even provide a decent life to their citizens, let alone having the funds/infrastructure to transform them into world class athletes (China's HDI was worse than modern Sub Saharan Africa, and South Koreans were looking at Ayyub Khan's Pakistan as model). Even Japan was not so much appreciated for its own genius, but basically as some sort of copycat of the West since the Meiji era (it's also way after WWII that it'd change for them).

The genetics discussions is even funnier when you know that the first ever Kenyan athlete to win a gold medal at intl level, in the early 60s, Seraphino Antao, was a runner of Indian (Goan/Konkani) origin - yet Kenya has since then produced many world level track & field/running events stars, but unlike Kenya, which, like Ethiopia/Morocco has concentrated a lot on these fields, Indian govt. didn't do as much, unless you mean that the "genetics" of Goan's/Konkani's or even Indians as a whole have changed since then.

 

[Darkrai]

First time i'm hearing about these Asian games.

 

[noonebetterthanPappu]

There is no "we" in multi-ethnic societies. Poor girls from North East villages are surpassing world's best with whatever infrastructure they have, and then there are examples of Haryanvi kids eyeing Gold in the next Olympics, not for shooting or archery, but for events such as Javelin and Wrestling.

I think the real tragedy for India (and I guess Pakistan as well) has been all the sporting infrastructure and facilities going to the "politically important" weaklings, while the states capable of producing world class athletes have been neglected completely, not just from a sporting perspective, but in every way possible.

We are not a country of Sports for many decades..now only people are showing more and more interest as there can be careers to be made out of sports.Earlier its just an easy way to get Govt jobs,which i guess one of the reasons for mediocrity as people more interested in getting job and settling rather than excellence in sports.

Another reason is most of these sports in Olympics are dominant (infrastructure/training wise) and played mainly in Western countries.After doing all the strict training from very very young age China still unable to catch US in Olympics (ignore Biejing Olympics as its home Olympics to them).

 

[MenInG]

Arshad Nadeem once dreamed of becoming a star cricketer, but after switching to athletics he has the opportunity to grab Pakistan's first individual Olympic medal in more than 30 years.

"Right now there is a chance for me," Nadeem told AFP as he prepared for next month's Covid-delayed Tokyo Games.

"If I throw my best then, God willing, I will win a medal."

Since its first Olympics in London in 1948, Pakistan have won three gold, three silver and two bronze medals in field hockey.

The bronzes won by wrestler Mohammad Bashir in Rome in 1960 and boxer Hussain Shah in Seoul in 1988 are Pakistan's only individual Olympic medals.

But ahead of next month's games, Nadeem has the world's sixth-best javelin throw of the year -- a personal best 86.38 metres achieved in April in Iran, where he was forced to travel in order to seek top-flight competition.

The strapping 24-year-old, who ditched cricket for athletics as a teenager, will face tougher opponents in Tokyo, but he said he won't be fazed.

"I don't look at any of the other javelin throwers... I don't focus on them," he said after a training session in Lahore.

"I focus on myself and how I throw and I try my best -- and that is how God honours me."

Nadeem already has a taste for gold, having stood atop the podium at last year's South Asian Games in Nepal.

He took bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games behind gold-winner Neeraj Chopra of India, the farmer's son who has thrown the third-longest distance this year.

It hasn't been an easy path for the 1.87 metre-tall (six feet two inches) Nadeem, who comes from a village in a wheat and cotton-producing area of Punjab.

With sons and daughters put to work early, he had little time for his first love, cricket, and facilities and proper training were scarce.

Despite the difficulties, Nadeem shone as an all-rounder. "I was good," he said.

"There was a chance for me to be part of the national team, but conditions were such that I couldn't do it."

On the advice of a brother, Nadeem turned to athletics -- which took less time than days-long cricket matches -- trying his hand at a variety of events.

"There was shot put, javelin, discus, hammer, long jump, high jump and triple jump," he said.

"I even ran in the 100 metres, 200 metres and relay -- and thankfully I won about seven to nine events at divisional level."

Nadeem's big break came in 2015 when he was taken on by Pakistan's water and power board, a government authority with a modest budget for nurturing sports talent.

There he was taken under the wing of coach Fayaz Hussain Bukhari.

"He threw well so we gave him a job," said Bukhari, who has been Nadeem's coach ever since.

- 'Good learner' -

Still, sacrifices had to be made in order to produce a world-class athlete -- not least in getting the right diet.

"Yes, food is a big problem... But that is something that needs to be dealt with as part of life," he said.

Bukhari said getting Nadeem in the right condition for the Games had been difficult during the pandemic.

#photo2
"Training is the real challenge. He sat at home for a year because of corona," said the coach.

"All the gyms and stadiums were closed. I had to work him hard to bring him to a point where he could compete and win again."

Bukhari, who is paid just 15,000 rupees a month (around $100) to look after his charge, said Nadeem was a great student.

"He trains well and is a good learner," he said, adding: "We are going to do our best, and the rest is in God's hands."

Whatever the result in Tokyo, Nadeem knows he can count on the support from his family and neighbours.

"We have a small village which has become famous not just in all of Pakistan but the entire world because of Arshad Nadeem," he said.

"They are very happy."

AFP

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD:
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) on Friday expressed disappointment over the "poor performance" of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) in the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The IPC committee, chaired by MNA Nawab Sher, noted with annoyance that the federation had been "performing poorly" for the last 17 years while inquiring from the POA about the reasons its President Lt Gen (retd) Arif Hassan was not attending the meeting.

POA Secretary General Khalid Mahmood informed the meeting that Hassan could not attend the meeting as he was currently on a trip abroad, assuring that he will be present in the next meeting. He told the panel that the total annual budget of the association amounted to around Rs50 million which he said was regularly accounted for by the auditors.

The meeting also confirmed the minutes of the previous meeting and a report on implementation status of the committee proceedings to discuss the prevention of Offences in Sports Bill, 2020 moved by MNA Iqbal Muhammad Ali Khan.

The committee, after receiving a briefing on the said bill from a representative of the Ministry of Law and Justice, asked the ministry to present a comprehensive report on the bill in the next meeting of the body.

The committee also deferred the matter to discuss the question moved in the House on February 7 by MNA Dr Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto due to the non-presence of the mover.

Further, the committee also dilated upon the reasons for the downfall of hockey, seeking a rundown on it and measures that could potentially revive the sport.

Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary General Asif Bajwa lamented that the "structure was outdated", adding that upgrading the structure in order to meet the international standards was crucial.

"Our neighbouring countries are spending plenty of money on hockey whereas the budget we earmark for the sport was far too low and inefficient," he added.

Bajwa said that during the last three years, the country could only participate in only four international matches, stressing that it required 30 to 35 international matches annually to resuscitate hockey.

"If provided with the financial assistance that's given to cricket, we would give you better results," he assured.

The secretary general suggested setting up a 'school of excellence' for hockey in every province.

Answering whether the funds provided to the PHF were properly audited, the secretary apprised the committee that PHF routinely went through three types of audits every year: internal, external and governmental.

IPC Secretary Mohsin Mushtaq informed the committee that steps were being taken to push provinces to invest in sports such as football, hockey, kabaddi and volleyball at school level.

Further, he said that a new sports policy would be presented before the federal cabinet within a period of a month.

Nawab Sher, the chair of the standing committee, recommended that in order to rehabilitate dying hockey, funds of around Rs1 billion should be kept aside for the sport.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2319670/na-body-worried-over-poor-performance-of-sports

 

[street cricketer]

ISLAMABAD:
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) on Friday expressed disappointment over the "poor performance" of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) in the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The IPC committee, chaired by MNA Nawab Sher, noted with annoyance that the federation had been "performing poorly" for the last 17 years while inquiring from the POA about the reasons its President Lt Gen (retd) Arif Hassan was not attending the meeting.

POA Secretary General Khalid Mahmood informed the meeting that Hassan could not attend the meeting as he was currently on a trip abroad, assuring that he will be present in the next meeting. He told the panel that the total annual budget of the association amounted to around Rs50 million which he said was regularly accounted for by the auditors.

The meeting also confirmed the minutes of the previous meeting and a report on implementation status of the committee proceedings to discuss the prevention of Offences in Sports Bill, 2020 moved by MNA Iqbal Muhammad Ali Khan.

The committee, after receiving a briefing on the said bill from a representative of the Ministry of Law and Justice, asked the ministry to present a comprehensive report on the bill in the next meeting of the body.

The committee also deferred the matter to discuss the question moved in the House on February 7 by MNA Dr Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto due to the non-presence of the mover.

Further, the committee also dilated upon the reasons for the downfall of hockey, seeking a rundown on it and measures that could potentially revive the sport.

Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary General Asif Bajwa lamented that the "structure was outdated", adding that upgrading the structure in order to meet the international standards was crucial.

"Our neighbouring countries are spending plenty of money on hockey whereas the budget we earmark for the sport was far too low and inefficient," he added.

Bajwa said that during the last three years, the country could only participate in only four international matches, stressing that it required 30 to 35 international matches annually to resuscitate hockey.

"If provided with the financial assistance that's given to cricket, we would give you better results," he assured.

The secretary general suggested setting up a 'school of excellence' for hockey in every province.

Answering whether the funds provided to the PHF were properly audited, the secretary apprised the committee that PHF routinely went through three types of audits every year: internal, external and governmental.

IPC Secretary Mohsin Mushtaq informed the committee that steps were being taken to push provinces to invest in sports such as football, hockey, kabaddi and volleyball at school level.

Further, he said that a new sports policy would be presented before the federal cabinet within a period of a month.

Nawab Sher, the chair of the standing committee, recommended that in order to rehabilitate dying hockey, funds of around Rs1 billion should be kept aside for the sport.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2319670/na-body-worried-over-poor-performance-of-sports

The bolded bit always amuses me whenever I read any news from Pakistan. Every random Pakistani organisation has a retired military general heading it.

Which other countries have similar level of military interference in civilian organisations? Reckon Myanmar or Thailand have to be close.

 

[MenInG]

LAHORE: In an unusual development which may raise voices in support of freedom of expression, Olympian Rashid-ul-Hasan was banned by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) on Thursday for ten years allegedly for his offensive criticism over the decline of the country’s hockey on a social media platform.

Rashid, the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games gold medallist, while categorically denying the allegations of using offensive language is considering the option to challenge the ban in the court of law.

A PHF inquiry committee was constituted to see if Rashid had used abusive language against Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is also the PHF patron-in-chief. The instructions in this regard were given by PHF president retired Brig Khalid Sajjad Khokhar and secretary Asif Bajwa, said a press release issued on Thursday.

After Rashid did not respond to two notices issued to him on the matter, the committee on PHF president’s instructions imposed the ten-year ban. The copy of the notification has also been sent to National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Sports.

Speaking on the matter, Rashid dispelled the impression of abusive language he was alleged to have used against the prime minister on any social media forum.

“On social media or any other public media I have always given [due] respect to the prime minister,” the 62-year-old Rashid told Dawn.

“On a WhatsApp group I only said that on the container though Imran Khan was claiming that he would put the game of hockey on the right track, nothing came on the surface during the last three years. And I also said Imran will not do any good work for hockey,” the Olympian remarked while giving his clarification.

As a citizen of the country, Rashid added, he had the right to speak, but “I didn’t use any abusive language”.

Expressing his surprise over the ban announced by the PHF, Rashid said currently he was not even holding any position in the federation.

According to Rashid, he received the first notice from the PHF some five months ago, adding “it didn’t carry any solid material, that’s why I did not consider it serious”.

“The second explanation notice I received some 45 days ago,” he said.

“I wrote a short reply to the PHF refusing to accept the allegations as I did not use any abusive language against the prime minister,” he reiterated.

Meanwhile, the PHF requested the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) to issue letters to PEMRA and other relevant institutions to take further steps for implementing the ban on Rashid.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2022