The unprecedented inflation and the devaluation of Pakistani currency have also put national federations in a fix about how to keep fielding their athletes in international events without state support.

The cost of foreign tours has almost doubled. The prices of equipment, food, medicines and supplements have also touched new heights. The economic disorder has also badly affected the industrial sector and business community also has started taking less interest in backing sports activities.

Lack of professional individuals in the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and the IPC ministry has added to the woes of the country’s sports. Some federations have now abandoned thinking about fielding their athletes in 2024 Olympics Qualifiers due to lack of money which shows how difficult it is for an athlete to survive and protect his or her international career as there is no more charm left in the circuit.

There is a complete mess and the state is not even able to return the money which some federations have spent on fielding their athletes in some important international events in the past one year or so.

Due to a fine job done by the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), some top athletes have been able to secure IOC scholarships. That may help them to a certain extent in preparing and featuring in Olympics Qualifiers but in general the sports sector of Pakistan has been hit hard by the devaluation of Pakistani currency and the state’s economic woes. Keeping in view the packed international calendar until the 2024 Paris Olympics our sports need big support from the state. It would be a huge injustice with the athletes who have sacrificed their entire lives for sports development if the sports budget was cut down or they were not backed properly at a time when their participation in international events is indispensable.

Besides Olympics Qualifiers which will come at particular stages for various disciplines until the 2024 Paris showpiece we have ahead the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, where our athletes’ performance will be keenly followed by the people back home.

In order to prepare for such a big event the state should join hands with the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) and devise a strategy so that at least some preparation could be made for the Hangzhou Games which were scheduled last year but postponed due to Covid 19 issues in China.

Keeping in view the slow pace and lack of seriousness on the part of the state’s sports institutions I don’t think we will prepare effectively for the Asian Games. We, as usual, will tackle it casually and send a contingent to China which will have no capability to win medals at that major stage.

If this is the condition and the way we govern our sports sector, how are we going to leave an impact in sports globally? Mostly we depend on individual brilliance and when an extraordinary athlete wins a medal on the international circuit we try to take the credit.

There are a few federations whose officials always remain busy managing sponsors but most are totally dependent on state funding which shows we have no capability to meet international sports demands.

Both state and federations will have to jointly develop the sports industry of the country. If we don’t talk to each other in months, how can we develop sports?

We keep ten players in the camp where we need 40 so it’s not something encouraging. We don’t allow foreign coaches to bring in their families, which is a requirement. We don’t give foreign coaches salary regularly and even we force our athletes to bear their air-fare and accommodation expenses at times. For how long is this going to continue? We should work with a professional approach.

It’s a good step from the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) to announce that the 34th National Games will be held in Quetta from May 15 to 23.

Balochistan has sanctioned a huge amount for staging these Games which will also help the athletes to prepare for the Asian Games. Federations will also get a chance to know how their top crop performs and so they will be able to form budding sides for the Asian Games in China.

When there is despondency around, National Games will at least help the country’s top lot achieve top fitness ahead of their camps for the Asian Games.

Balochistan’s civil and military leadership is keen to stage this event which will make the image of the province much better.

In 2019, too, the National Games, conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, helped the country to prepare for the South Asian Games in Nepal and this time it will help federations to form solid squads for the Asian Games which will be held in Hangzhou from September 23 to October 8.

It’s high time for sports authorities to become more proactive and prepare the national athletes well for the forthcoming events.

The PSB should pay the outstanding dues of the federations. Moreover, every federation should try to ensure the participation of their budding athletes in the Asian Games. The POA has already told the federations that if the state does not back their squads for the Asian Games then it would be the responsibility of the federations to bear their own expenses.

73.alam@gmail.com