Last month Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) spent Rs137 million on the first edition of Quaid-e-Azam Inter-Provincial Games held at Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad.

Around 1900 athletes from the four provinces, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, FATA and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) took part in the event, held from April 23 to 26.

Punjab emerged as the champions, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh ended second and third, respectively.

Two days, out of four, were spent in staging the opening and closing ceremonies. President Mamnoon Hussain inaugurated the spectacle and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar graced the closing ceremony.

The competitions provided some recreation to mediocre sportsmen and women who competed in 13 disciplines, but they had no professional utility at all.

As per rules, the basic function of the Board is to provide infrastructure and funds to the national federations. Organising such a national-level event is not in its domain. It is the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) that is responsible for staging any major national event.

It organises National Games and Inter-Provincial Games regularly. The problem is that the PSB acts where its services are not needed and does not act where its role is required.

The state has the funds for such events but it does not have a penny for those players who want to prepare for and feature in the Rio Olympics qualifiers.

The Board did spend some money on Japan-based judoka Shah Hussain who appeared in many international events to qualify for the Olympics, but it ignored several other sports disciplines in which Pakistan could have earned Olympic berths.

Because of financial problems Pakistani boxers missed the Asian qualifying round held in the Chinese city of Qiana’n in March and April this year.

The pugilists trained for this event for one and a half year but the end was heart-wrenching. I cannot describe how depressed the boxers looked when they were going to their homes when they were told that they were not being sent to China because of financial constraints.

Now they are set to appear in the world qualifiers to be hosted by Azerbaijan in Baku from June 7-19. Let’s see how much the Board helps them.

Scotland-based taekwondo player Atief Arshad narrowly missed an Olympic berth when he ended with a bronze medal in the Asian qualifying round in the Philippines last month.

Atief needed to qualify for the final in the 80 kg competitions but he lost in the semi-final. Had the government properly helped him he could have easily made it to the Olympics.

The wrestlers were also not supported by the PSB in their Olympic qualification bid.

Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF) fielded grapplers in the Asian Championship by spending from its meagre resources. It had to field its top wrestler Mohammad Inam in the world qualifying round in Mongolia spending its own money.

The cash-starved PWF is also set to field its five leading wrestlers in the second world qualifiers in Turkey from May 8 without the support of the PSB.

The PSB has not yet released the PWF its annual grant of Rs1.6 million, which has been creating problems for the federation.

The PWF officials say that Pakistan has a chance of qualifying for Olympics through Turkey qualifiers.

After Pakistan failed to qualify for Olympics in hockey for the first time in history, the PSB should have focused on other disciplines.

Shah Hussain also missed a few vital events because of the sponsorship problem. His world ranking fell and he is now 54th as per the latest International Judo Federation (IJF) rankings. Shah’s qualifying chances have almost finished.

If the boxers and the wrestlers also failed to click in their last assignments, Pakistan would be sending a tiny contingent to Rio on wild cards. It will comprise a couple of athletes, a couple of swimmers and most probably one shooter.

Athletes Maria Maratab and Mohammad Ikram are the likely participants in the Rio Games as Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) has sent their tentative entries to the IAAF. Maria from Army is a 100m hurdler, while Ikram from WAPDA is an 800m specialist.

Qualifying for Olympics is not a joke. Athletes need proper training for around four years. There should be coordination among the PSB, federations and the POA.

A few days ago, a newspaper, while quoting an official of the POA, said that the POA had requested the PSB that it should release funds to those federations which were going to field their players in Olympic qualifiers. But the PSB did not respond properly. It means that our sports are not being governed properly and being run on an ad hoc basis.

It is time the stakeholders put their heads together and plan for the 2020 Olympics. In some individual sports, Pakistan can qualify if a proper plan is prepared and executed through full funding from the state.

I will give you an example of the amazing talent the country has. Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan has achieved the fourth rank in the world in javelin throw as per the IAAF world rankings for under-20 athletes released recently.

If the player is properly trained and groomed he can turn out to be a world beater. But there is need for a commitment, particularly from the government.

The POA’s role is also very important. For the last few years the POA did not perform its functions due to various reasons. Now it should play its due role in preparing athletes for the 2020 Olympics.

It should generate fund as it is the only way it will help federations and players in their Olympic mission.

Pakistan also needs a sports institute and research centre like the one being run in India and a national academy on the pattern of Aspire Academy being run by Qatar in Doha.

I also want to ask the PSB Director General Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera when he will implement his plan of establishing a sports university in Islamabad.

Our sports officials give statements but do nothing practically. In the 2007 National Games in Karachi, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that Pakistan should focus on a few individual sports disciplines so that Olympic level players could be produced. But it is on record that he, as the Prime Minister, did nothing noteworthy for Pakistan’s sports.

Last month at the opening ceremony of the Quaid-e-Azam Inter-Provincial Games President Mamnoon Hussain said sports should be promoted in schools. I ask Mr President who will develop sports when the Prime Minister does not even have time to meet Riaz Pirzada, who heads the ministry for inter-provincial coordination that has been responsible for managing sports affairs since the 18th Amendment.

In a nutshell, it is time to go ahead with a proper plan to develop our sports or we will not be able to compete at the international level as other nations are moving ahead very fast.