Time to back our sports stars

Meagre resources plus no real financial support from the government and still Pakistan athletes gave their best in the just concluded 13th South Asian Games in Nepal.

Grooming a talent and making him a super star at any level is an arduous and painstaking job. What is required to make an athlete a world beater is consistent training, coaching from well-versed coaches and, more importantly, continuous international exposure. Sadly, this is not the case with Pakistani athletes.

The medallists in the South Asian Games were the ones who made it to the top through sheer talent and a bit of support from their respective federations. The government — Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination and Pakistan Sports Board — has not come to their help, especially in the last two years. In the backdrop of restructuring the PSB and making unprecedented delay in reshaping the system, the government has forgotten that athletes are the ultimate sufferers. In fact, athletes have already suffered a lot in all these months. The PSB is in a shambles and is being run by ad-hoc heads one after another. Those having no knowledge or interest for sports and its promotion have been given the power to decide the fate of sportspersons. So slow and non-professional have been the board’s working that it takes weeks and even months to resolve a genuine issue regarding sports promotion.

The Islamabad High Court has already warned the ministry and PSB (in Mansoor Ahmad case) for failing to fulfill their duties in absence of the general and executive councils that have been disbanded.

For the first time in the history of Pakistan sports, athletes went to the regional games without any real international exposure. It is always asking too much from an athlete to compete against the best in the business or those who have come well prepared. A careful look at the Indian, Nepalese, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan contingents for the 13th edition of the Games reveal that a majority of their athletes were training and getting international exposure and quality coaching for the last couple of years. India’s top sportspersons and Sri Lanka’s track and field athletes get round-the-year training and support courtesy their government. The central government in India has doubled its Olympic federation’s grant, which now stands at 7.5 billion Pakistani rupees. In comparison, the sports federations here get peanuts, and that also not regularly.

The IPC Ministry made an unprecedented cut on the overall strength of the South Asian Games contingent. The Pakistan Olympic Association had suggested a contingent of around 350 athletes, but that was cut down to 245. All other leading countries’ contingents were far bigger. Hosts Nepal fielded 596 members, Sri Lanka had 564 and India 487. Even Bangladesh’s government sponsored a 470-member contingent. Pakistan participated in only 18 disciplines while all other major countries competed in 25 or 26 disciplines. The cut on the Pakistan contingent was imposed without any logic and that resulted in total disruption of the working/calculation of federations for medals, especially in martial arts. Despite hollow slogans of austerity, the IPC Ministry and PSB supported non accredited officials for the Games.

So slow and uncertain was the ministry and PSB that no one knew what would be the final strength of the Pakistan squad even a few days ahead of the Games. For a good performance by athletes, especially in weightlifting and wrestling, one needs support staff’s help. Majority of these support staff was barred by the government to accompany the athletes, saying it does not have enough funds.

Even with all these issues, Pakistani athletes performed outstandingly in Nepal. This shows their talent and commitment. Let’s just take one example. Arshad Nadeem, who is threatening the Asian javelin throw record and has the potential to win an Olympic medal, trained all these months in his native village in Southern Punjab. If this talent was in any other country he would have been fully backed to train and compete internationally. Same is the case with wrestler Mohammad Inam.

However, when it comes to claiming credit for the achievements of these athletes, everyone — especially those from the ministries and PSB — give an impression that it was all because of them. With their performances in the South Asian Games, the athletes/players have shown that they possess the talent to reach the top.