Pakistan has produced numerous athletes in various sports like cricket, hockey, and squash....
COVER STORY
Pakistan has produced numerous athletes in various sports like cricket, hockey, and squash. The likes of Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, and Javed Miandad in cricket; Samiullah, Islahuddin, and Shahbaz Senior in hockey; the Khan clan in squash; and countless others have engraved their names in the world of sports.
But from 2024 onwards, if you ask a sports fan in Pakistan to name one person who personifies the country’s belief in the sporting ability of its youth, the name that will leave others in its wake in awe will be none other than the best javelin thrower on the planet, Arshad Nadeem.
One for the ages!
’’ذرا نم ہو تو یہ مٹّی بہت زرخیز ہے ساقی’’
(If slightly moistened, this soil is immensely fertile, O cupbearer.)
Words won’t do justice to what he has achieved all on his own; he has shown that with the right mind-set, focus, determination, and a lot of hard work, one can perform sporting miracles. Arshad Nadeem’s name was catapulted into stardom with a single swing of his arm on that memorable evening in Paris. Arshad was one of the favourites for the podium, but surely he wasn’t the favourite to take gold.
India’s Neeraj Chopra was nailed on to take the top spot, but it was Arshad Nadeem’s evening. He did the unthinkable—not just winning the gold but also breaking the Games’ record in the process. This was Pakistan’s first Olympic medal since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the first gold for the country in the last 40 years! Two of Arshad’s throws—his second at 92.97m (the gold clincher) and his sixth at 91.79m—both breached the magical 90m mark.
The 27-year-old from Mian Channu has etched his name in glory with his amazing feat at the Paris Olympics, but it wasn’t a fluke. His sixth throw confirmed it. What many people do not know is that Arshad has several other records to his name as well. He has won gold in other important events, most notably the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games, and the 2019 South Asian Games.
Arshad Nadeem’s performance and how it was received in Pakistan must serve as motivation to the youth of this country. It is something that Pakistan’s sports authorities should use to produce more Arshad Nadeems. The sporting world is filled with examples where one single athlete has revolutionized his/her nation’s sports industry.
The soap opera that is Pakistan cricket!
The achievements of Arshad Nadeem not only gave Pakistani fans something to celebrate, but they also helped forget the dismal performance of their Men’s National Team (MNT) in the 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup held in the West Indies and the US in June. They lost to the eventual winners, India, in a game where they had their arch-rivals on the ropes. Their embarrassing loss to the host–the US– just highlighted how unprepared they were for such an important event. If that wasn’t enough, they lost a home Test series to Bangladesh!
The captaincy merry-go-round and the musical chairs of selectors/coaches continue to this day. The drama never ends with the PMNT, and unfortunately, it is the fans who have to suffer. Near the end of the year, there have been some performances, very typical of Pakistan Cricket, that have again given their fan base something to cling to as the Champions Trophy nears.
The event, as I write, is scheduled to be staged in Pakistan in February next year, with the UAE emerging as a joint host for staging India’s matches.
The discussion is still ongoing, and it is very likely that Pakistan will have to accept the proposal of letting India play their matches in the UAE. Again, is there any surprise there? Did the ICC not know India would not travel to Pakistan? Money is important, but putting the reputation of the game—and that of the organizing body itself—at stake is questionable! How has cricket come to this? The ICC should clearly tell the world that this is cricket’s version of WWE, where money talks, so that all of us can sleep well, knowing that it’s all just drama and has nothing to do with sports.
Coming back to Pakistan Cricket, the bright spark was their Test series win against Ben Stokes’ all-conquering England. Pakistan got bulldozed in the first Test but then spun a web around the English to claim the next two matches, winning the three-match series 2-1. Sajid Khan and Noman Ali took 39 out of the 40 wickets in those two matches.
The team travelled to Australia, where they surprisingly trounced the hosts 2-1 in the ODI series, again after losing the opening match. Shan Masood is the current red-ball captain, and Muhammad Rizwan is leading the white-ball teams. His performance at the 2024 PSL, where he led Multan Sultans to the final, cemented his credentials as a strong candidate for the PMNT’s captaincy. Multan Sultans lost to Islamabad United in the final.
The Women’s Team is improving, but they still have a mountain to climb if they want to catch up with the top teams in the world. However, making it to the semi-finals of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup was an achievement. In the Women’s World T20, held in the UAE in October, they were knocked out in the group stage as New Zealand lifted the trophy for the first time in their history.
Football battlefields of Europe
2024 was a very busy year in football as well. With UEFA Euro 2024 held in the summer, it was nonstop action for football lovers. Fans saw the re-emergence of a footballing powerhouse, Spain, who won the Euros by beating England in the final, as well as claiming gold in football at the Olympics. Argentina won the 2024 Copa América, adding another feather in Lionel Messi’s cap. Ivory Coast claimed the African Cup of Nations title.
Manchester City dominated the football scene in England by claiming their fourth league title in a row under Pep Guardiola, with United winning the FA Cup on the last day of the season under Erik ten Hag. Since then, ten Hag has been sacked by Manchester United and replaced by a young Portuguese coach, Ruben Amorim. Guardiola, on the other hand, isn’t enjoying life at City at the moment either; his team has derailed in the absence of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri.
The habitual Champions League winners, Real Madrid, won yet another title this year, their 15th overall. The team closest to them is AC Milan, with 7 titles to their name. Real Madrid also won La Liga last season, and to make things even sweeter, they brought one of the best players in world football, Kylian Mbappé, to the Bernabéu without having to pay a transfer fee.
In Serie A, Inter Milan claimed their 20th title, while in Germany, Bayer Leverkusen, under Xabi Alonso, went unbeaten in the league and toppled Bayern Munich’s supremacy in the Bundesliga. In France, PSG won Ligue 1 for the 12th time.
The holy trinity of Men’s Tennis
In almost a quarter of a century—22 years to be precise—the Grand Slam winners in Men’s Tennis were players none other than the "big three"—Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. It shows how the game was dominated by these three superstars for more than two decades. Roger Federer retired a few years ago, and in 2024, Nadal also drew curtains on an iconic career in which he won 22 Grand Slam titles, including a record 14 French Opens. Djokovic, who holds the record for most Grand Slams in Men’s Tennis (24), has stated his desire to continue, despite enduring the first year since 2017 where he failed to win a Grand Slam. He came close at Wimbledon this year, losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the final, and also claimed the Men’s singles title at the Summer Olympics.
Alcaraz won this year’s French Open, while Jannik Sinner won the Australian and US Opens in 2024. Aryna Sabalenka won the Australian and US Open Women’s Singles titles, Iga Swiatek won the French Open, while Barbora Krejcikova emerged victorious at Wimbledon. Zheng Qinwen won the Olympic Women’s singles title.
Some legendary sports figures passed away in 2024, and among the most iconic was former German captain “Der Kaiser” Franz Beckenbauer. A World Cup winner as both a player in 1974 and a manager in 1990, Beckenbauer, regarded as one of the greatest defenders in football history, passed away in January. He is also commonly recognized as the inventor of the modern sweeper (libero) position.
Also in January 2024, the legendary Brazilian coach Mario Zagallo, who was the coach of one of the greatest international teams of all time—the 1970 World Cup-winning Brazilian side featuring Pele—died. This year also saw the passing of former Pakistan cricketers Saeed Ahmed and Khalid Ibadulla, along with Sven-Goran Eriksson, who managed the England football team during the 2002 World Cup. Former England batsman Graham Thorpe also passed away in 2024.
Well, that’s a wrap, but sporting action continues. Pakistan is currently on South Africa’s tour, which will end in the first week of January next year. Then, of course, the much-awaited Champions Trophy will be held in Pakistan in February. So, there’s so much more to look forward to in 2025 if you are a sports fan. Just fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride!
