LAHORE: No doubt that at present, our beloved country is facing many problems and hardships. But still, we have some people who are always in search of betterment and progress and they always try to bring some positive changes in our global image and show the soft and prosperous face of Pakistan to the world. In reality they are our real heroes.
I am talking about a person, Syed Sultan Shah, who in 1998 helped set up the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council, and it is now the governing body for the sport in the country. Mr Shah himself started playing cricket from 1982 when — the council was set up — the first Pakistan Blind Cricket Team participated in the first Blind Cricket World Cup which was held in India, in 1998. Mr Shah was captain of that team and it did very well, losing only in the final.
Four years later, in 2002, Pakistan won the second Blind Cricket World Cup. Mr Shah retired from playing cricket in 2005, while he was still captain of the Pakistan blind team. He then took part on the organisational side and Pakistan hosted the next Blind Cricket World Cup in 2006 which Pakistan won as well.
In November of this year, Mr Shah was elected president of the World Blind Cricket Council, which is an honour for Pakistanis. People like him inspire others to pursue the same path, despite physical disabilities and handicaps. The media tends to overlook these Pakistani heroes but it is about time that it recognised them for what they are worth.
Umer Yaqoob Minhas
Published in The Express Tribune, December 5th, 2012.
