Olympic ordeals

Though Pakistan has failed to break its 29-year streak of not clinching a medal at the Olympics, its performance at the world’s biggest sports competition stands out for reigniting with greater fervour the quintessential question surrounding sports in the country: what will it take for the government to nurture and support its athletes, and the people to own them before and beyond such competitions? While all of Pakistan’s 10-strong contingent – who were among over 11,600 athletes from more than 200 nations – deserve to be celebrated for even competing with some of the world’s best, a few names in particular stand out from the Tokyo Olympics. A previously unknown figure beyond the sports world, Arshad Nadeem, has now become a household name following his stellar performance in the javelin throw competition. Though he finished at an undeserved fifth place, Arshad had already made records by becoming the first Pakistani athlete to qualify directly for the Olympics, and reach the track and field final, all on his first run at the games. Similarly, weightlifter Talha Talib’s near-miss of clinching a bronze medal was a feat in itself, as was Mahnoor Shahzad’s entry in the badminton competition – a first for Pakistan.

With the games over and our heroes back home, now is the time for serious introspection and future planning, unless those at the helm want to continue with Pakistan’s position of being the most populous country not to bag any medals since 1992. Media stories into the numerous travails and hardships our athletes have to go through should make us all hang our heads in shame. Even the country’s leading cricketers, whose sport enjoys the nation’s undivided attention – and funds – all year round, have urged sponsors and authorities to provide facilities and financial support to our Olympic athletes as ‘they have the potential to win medals’. Both Arshad and Talha have narrated in detail tales of their arduous journey with limited resources – an all too familiar story of the country’s many known and unknown sportswomen and men. In light of the recent backlash, the Pakistan Olympic Association has instead blamed the Inter Provincial Ministry and the Pakistan Sports Board for being behind the decline of sports in the country, claiming that had the PSB lived up to its responsibilities, the country would have won medals at the Olympics. While the POA is perhaps not wrong in stating that ‘the existing facilities and financial support for our sportspersons are the lowest in the region’, it cannot absolve itself entirely. Why, for instance, did the POA send as many officials as athletes? And why was Talha left to seek help from the Palestine weightlifting coach in Tokyo as his own coach had been replaced by an official of the Pakistan-Asian Weightlifting Federation? More importantly, why does the POA continue to be headed by the same person – a former three-star general – since 2004 despite the country’s dismal performances in the Olympics? Unfortunately, the rot runs deep in the country’s sports associations and federations, whose heads are mostly non-professionals routinely reelected in PSB-supervised polls with little to no accountability. Blaming athletes for ‘spending time on social media’ does not absolve our Olympics think tank from their neglect.

What is required is nothing short of a complete overhaul of the country’s sports management system with adequate funds and merit at its core, something that should have come naturally to PM Imran Khan, our former cricket captain. Maybe the PM can begin by inquiring into the progress of the task force he had formed in September 2018 to revamp the country’s sports sector as the ‘government bodies dealing with sports had failed to achieve the purpose for which they were created’. The media and society, too, need to be consistent in celebrating and supporting our heroes beyond the news cycle and trending hashtags, and continue pressuring the government to do more – our athletes deserve nothing less.