London Olympics 2012: Schoolgirl to be Pakistan’s torchbearer

Zainab Imran chosen after involvement in the Games’ legacy programme.

KARACHI:

In a moment where every Pakistani should hold their heads up high, Zainab Imran, a 14-year-old girl from Karachi, will leave for London on June 24 to avail her opportunity of a lifetime by being the only Olympic torchbearer from Pakistan, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Zainab received the honour as a result of her involvement in London 2012’s international sports legacy programme, International Inspiration, through her Nasra Trust School and the British Council. The programme seeks to enrich the lives of millions of young people, particularly in developing countries, by using the power of sport. Organisations like the British Council, UNICEF UK, UK Sport and the British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association partnered together to fund the programme and turn the idea into reality and fulfill the dreams of aspiring youth.

The 14-year-old is amongst a group of 20 young people from 20 different countries involved in International Inspiration, who will take part in the London 2012 Olympic torch relay in Nottingham on June 28.

Each of the 20 torchbearers were nominated and selected, either for their dedication and commitment to inspire children and young people in their communities through the power of sport, or for personal challenges they have overcome in their lives.

“I want the world to know that my country is not only about what is being portrayed by the world media,” said Zainab, while talking to The Express Tribune. She expressed her discontent with the promotion of only negative aspects of Pakistani society, and claimed that she would use this platform to promote the brighter and positive aspects of the country. She also expressed her gratitude for the support she received from her parents and teachers to pursue her dreams. “Such moments come rarely in a lifetime when you have been selected among millions to represent your country,” Zainab’s mother Amna Imran claimed. “She has got a flair for sports but it is not that she was naturally talented at it. She received the encouragement and support to pursue her dream, which parents in our society normally would not give,” her mother reiterated.

Fahd Shafiq, project manager at the British Council Pakistan for the International Inspiration programme, termed the event as “inspirational” for the youth who took part in it, as well as those who did not. He said that though this programme was launched globally in 2007, it was initiated in Pakistan by the British Council and other partners in March 2010.

“Initially, people did not show interest out of disbelief that this could really happen,” Shafiq mentioned. “But the number of applications started mounting with the passage of time,” he said. Finally, Zainab was approved as Pakistan’s representative by the organisation’s UK committee .

Chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Lord Seb Coe said, “Zainab has been a real inspiration in her community and truly demonstrates how sport can change someone’s life.”

Published In The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2012.