History of Pakistan’s sports and heroes

It is said that a book is a person’s best friend. As a friend, books keep us anchored to the realities of life. There are all types of books, like there are all types of friends. Some books guide us through life’s challenging terrains, and some take us down the history to connect us with the past. Pakistan Sports and Heroes is one such book. It narrates how Pakistan, once flying on the horse of fame and recognition in the arena of sports, failed and became a nonentity. Part of the reason, the Editor and Compiler of the book, Muhammad Ali, explains, relates to Pakistan’s inability to sync with the scientific advancement in sports, and part is linked to the wrong decisions and corruption of those spearheading sports ministries and departments. In the introduction titled “The Plight of Pakistan Sports At 75”, Ali writes, “It [sports] is a struggle largely due to bad governance.” The overriding cause of this lamentable story, says Ali, has been political interference.

How does political manipulation take place? Let us find that out in Ali’s own words. “Pakistan has a Sports Ministry, better known as the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). After the devolution of the PSB in 2011, the administrative control of the PSB was transferred to the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC). But the PSB, along with the IPC Ministry, is still running the show and the devolution of sports to provinces has become nothing less than a great fare. It is interesting to note that the PSB was embroiled in conflict from 2012 to 2016 with the Pakistan Olympic Association, which meant that rather than focusing on the provision of requisite facilities and infrastructure for the athletes, energy was spent on scheming for power and clout locally and internationally.”

No mention of sports in Pakistan is complete without talking about hockey. Pakistan has won the classic triple in hockey, which means winning medals simultaneously in three prestigious sports arenas — Asian Games, World Cup and the Olympics. Pakistan has the honour of winning World Cups four times — in 1971, 1978, 1982, and 1994). Similarly, Pakistan’s performance at the Asian level has been unparalleled. Eight Gold medals — in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1990 and 2010 — made Pakistan a rare country to have won these many gold medals in Asian Games. However, by the turn of this century, Pakistan took a reverse gear, and for the last two decades, its success in sports has been patchy and unpredictable. In most cases, it was the individual efforts of the sportsmen that won us laurels. As Ali has rightly pointed out, the government has been largely conspicuous for lack of vision, for inability to provide facilities, for disinterest in nurturing talent, and for holding back spending on sports. The worst decision, says Ali, was delinking of Ministry of Education and Youth Affairs from sports. This regressive policy, Ali believes, turned sports into a mechanical process rather than a dynamic activity. In due course, property giants peddling on easy money, gobbled sports grounds where high-rise commercial plazas sprouted a culture of greed and dependence. Such has been the antipathy towards sports that not a single sports academy has been created in Pakistan all these years.

“In dilapidated gyms and crumbling sports fields, Pakistan athletes lament the outdated equipment and obsolete training method, which leaves them struggling against foreign competitors who adhere to latest science-based techniques. Our athletes are truly frustrated because mostly coaches are illiterate. Without infrastructure a lot can be done, but without techniques no one can win,” writes Ali in his book.

Confined to the colonial mindset, our only penchant in sports became cricket. How rightly Ali has said, “We ignored the mother of all sports — athletics. We follow cricket, cricket, and more cricket … Athletes is one sporting discipline not requiring larger resources.”

The writer gives the example of Kenya that how a poor country used the natural talent of walking and running into a sports feast. In 1960 the European priests were appalled at seeing small boys crossing miles on foot to reach their schools across high hills. The stamina and agility of the kids were further groomed to bring about a nation that has dominated races from 800 meters to the marathon for the last four decades.

From government to public school administration to private sector education system and parents, no one is interested in making sports an integral part of our system. Pakistan has the lowest budget for sports in South Asia, whereas India, and even a much smaller Bangladesh, spend billions of dollars on sports.

Wrapping up his argument on the heartbreaking story of Pakistan’s failure in sports, Ali advises the government to build sports institutions and look at the expenses incurred on sports as an investment rather than a liability. The existing disharmony among provinces can be bridged with sports, he opines. Therefore the government, he says, should “take a fresh start with a new, realistic and scientific sports narrative that may lead to a comprehensive sports policy and develop Pakistan as a powerhouse of sports.”

The book under study covers 75 years of history of sports. It talks about heroes and important sports played in Pakistan and about Pakistan’s sports organisations, federations and associations. Moreover, like a true friend, this book too will guide its readers through the beautiful and arduous history of Pakistan’s sports realities and facts.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2021.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.