There is a common English phrase about legends which says “Heroes get remembered but legends never die”. The true essence and meaning of this phrase can be found in the world of sports.

Thousands of sportsmen in the world achieve remarkable feats at some time in their career. Such are the people who are regarded as heroes but eventually get forgotten with the passage of time.

The names of legends, however, get permanently engrained in people’s minds due to their exceptional feats which are showcased repeatedly over long periods. Such is the power and impact of legendary performances that the performers become a household name and eventually transcend all racial, religious and cultural boundaries.

In the local context, Pakistan is also lucky to host a number of internationally acclaimed legends. By comparing our legends with the internationally known ones, we can better identify the opportunities that exist and the challenges which lie ahead towards the growth and development of our locally available talent and towards transformation of our local heroes into legends.

On the international scene there are many such legends which we are all too familiar with, irrespective of which generation or country they belong to. One classic example of such a legend is Mohammad Ali the boxer. He is one of the greatest legends of all times by virtue of not only his boxing abilities but also through his personal traits which very few athletes possess. Most of us even remember the song associated with him “Flies like a butterfly, stings like a bee. Mohammad Ali”. Not only just in the boxing ring, Mohammad Ali also won hearts of people all over the world through his stage interviews and witty comments.

Other sports have their own legends, although none as vocal and witty as Mohammad Ali. For instance, in football, the legendary Pele from Brazil, Cristiano Renaldo from Portugal, known for his exceptional forward skills, Messi and Maradona from Argentina, known for their goal scoring skills, in tennis we have the invincible American Sereena Williams and John McEnroe from USA and not forgetting Steffi Graf from Germany, Micheal Jordan the legendary Basketball player from the USA, Michael Johnson the famous sprinter from USA, Tiger Woods in Golf, again from USA and so on.

Pakistan, despite being a developing country is proud to host its own world-renowned list of legendries. Right from its creation in 1947, Pakistan has been producing internationally acclaimed players such as Hashim Khan, Roshan Khan, Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan who achieved highest honours in Squash.

Their feat is even more exemplary by virtue of the fact that being a newly- created country, Pakistan had very limited squash (or any other sports for that matter) infrastructure, no training facilities or instructors, not even squash courts to practice on, unlike their European or US counterparts who had a well laid out infrastructure to the extent that, by the 1900s, squash courts were very common across British clubs and schools. Hashim Khan went on to perform the remarkable feat of winning the prestigious British open title seven times between the period 1951-1958, only to be defeated finally by his own fellow compatriot Roshan Khan in 1957. In fact, not many people might know this, that the 1957 British Open semi-finals were an all-Pakistani affair including Hashim Khan, Roshan Khan, Mohibullah Khan Sr and Abdulla Khan, which by itself was an extraordinary feat performed by four compatriots belonging to a new born state with hardly any squash facilities of its own.

From 1951 onwards, till 1996, Pakistan went on to win 29 British Open Squash Championship titles. It also won the Squash World Open Championships title for a record 14 times and the World Team Championship title 23 times, the last team title being won in 1992. The absolute dominance of Pakistan in squash reflects upon a legacy unmatched by any other country. It is a testament to the country’s resilience, determination, talent and passion for sports.

It is a depiction of the immense potential and capability of the Pakistani sportsmen to do well even in the face of challenges, such as acute lack of resources and infrastructure.

There was even a period in the Golden Sports era of the mid 1990s when, at its pinnacle, Pakistan was in possession of world cups of five different sports at the same time. These five concurrent world titles included The IBSF World Snooker Championship (won by Mohammad Yousuf in 1994, and later by Mohammad Asif), The Hockey World Cup (March 1994), Cricket World Cup (March 1992), The Bridge World Team Championship (August 1994) and the Kabaddi World Cup held in late 1994. Though the concurrent period span for holding all the five world cups was a short one, it was a monumental occasion for Pakistan sports.

The country was put on the pedestal of the international sports as a sporting force to reckon with. In the process, our legends became a big name across the sporting arena. We now had mega stars as internationally recognised legends in our arsenal. Legendary names such as Hashim Khan, Roshan Khan, Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan in squash were regarded as the undisputed kings of the squash courts, Imran Khan being widely regarded as one of the four best all-rounders in international Cricket (the other ones being Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Richard Hadley of New Zealand). Shoaib Akhter, the un-disputed fastest bowler of all times, and the first to break the 100-mph barrier, Javed Miandad, the master batsman with a unique innovative style of his own, Wasim Akram the master of reverse swing (nicknamed Sultan of Swing) and Waqar Younis with his toe crushers, the two Ws together were considered to be the most lethal of opening bowling pair in one day cricket.

Then we had another international star by the name of Samiullah Khan who is widely considered as a legend in field hockey. He was known for his incredible speed and ball control and thus earned the nickname of ‘The Flying Horse’.

In boxing too, Pakistan has its legend by the name of Hussain Shah who won a bronze medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and is widely considered as one of the greatest boxers in Pakistan. The legend names included here are only a sample to illustrate the legendary class which exists within our sports fraternity.

As a downside, Gender inclusivity issues in Pakistan have meant limited participation of women in sports. Even so, they have created names for themselves. Examples include Pakistani women cricketers such as Nida Dar, who is known for her exceptional all-round skills, and also the first Pakistani woman to take 100 wickets in the T20 format.

Furthermore, Dar also led her team to a historic series victory against South Africa. Sana Mir, another outstanding Cricketer was ranked as the top ODI bowler and became the first Pakistani woman to take 100 ODI wickets. Carla Khan (squash) is another Pakistani woman who has done us proud by winning the El Salvador Open along with the Pakistani Open. Samina Baig (mountaineering) is another outstanding athlete is the first woman to have climbed the Everest. She has been awarded the Pride of Performance for her remarkable achievements.

Another noteworthy woman athlete is Naseem Hameed (athletics) who became the fastest woman runner in South Asia by winning a gold in the 2010 South Asian Games.

The feats of the Pakistani sportswomen are especially applaudable given the socio-cultural challenges being faced by women in Pakistan. Incentives such as the one conferred upon Samina Baig can prove to be a game-changer towards encouraging woman participation and inclusivity in sports.

Pakistan experienced a massive decline in sports fortunes and went without an Olympic medal for 32 long years (the last Olympic win for Pakistan was a bronze medal in Men’s Hockey in 1992).

It took a brilliant effort by an outstanding athlete like Arshad Nadeem to break the jinx by winning Pakistan’s first-ever individual Olympic Gold medal in Javelin at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The great achievement by Arshad Nadeem has temporarily halted the massive decline in sports. It reflects upon the fact that there is still a huge amount of talent which needs to be tapped to reverse the downward trend. The win tells us that Pakistani athletes have the potential to excel globally in sports. We can no longer afford to let sports take the back seat. All stakeholders have to get together to do everything possible to bring back the lost glory of the golden era of sports and reclaim the sports slots we once occupied.

Concrete steps are needed by the concerned authorities to prioritise sports with the realization that grooming of our youth and exploiting its talents is not only imperative for sports development but also for the progress and prosperity of the country as a whole.

Formulation of sports boards is a good measure in its own right. But making it work effectively towards achieving national sports objectives is another matter entirely.

Better governance and efficient management of resources is the need of the hour to better manage the already meagre resources, ensuring transparency and accountability at all times.

Increased investment is mandatory for improving the sports infrastructure and for upgrading sports facilities.

Realising this need, special provision should be made for allocating suitable financial support to cater to their training and other needs. We need to promote sports culture at school and community levels.

Also, International collaboration with other sports organisations is essential so that we can gain from their knowledge and experience. Pakistan’s youth constitute 70% of its population. We need to launch talent-hunt programmes to identify the talent which is awaiting to be groomed into heroes and legends of tomorrow.