Pakistan's soil is brimming with talent but we need to work honestly to find out and then develop that talent. But unfortunately we have been involved in politics everywhere and we make every effort to fail others, especially those who are competent and honest.

My today's topic of discussion in this piece is Pakistan's javelin throw. A few years ago few people knew about this sport. When the country's premier javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem used to train under Fayyaz Hussain Bukhari people used to ask Bukhari in the streets of Lahore about the bundle of javelins he was carrying. Bukhari used to reply, "one day you will know about this sport inshaAllah."

And in the 2019 South Asian Games iwn Nepal, Bukhari's pupil Arshad Nadeem managed an 86.29 metre throw to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. And since then he has remained unstoppable. Arshad finished fifth in the Tokyo Olympics -- a rare moment when the Pakistani nation glued to the television screen watching Arshad's exploits at the world's biggest stage.

Arshad then never looked back, finishing fifth in the World Championship in the US last year before engineering a stunning 90.18metre throw to shatter records of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. And days after this historic feat he took another gold in the Islamic Games in Turkey.

Surprisingly, after the Tokyo Olympics, the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) dropped Bukhari as a coach. I also question AFP today why it dropped Bukhari as a coach. Was it his fault to guide Arshad to the fifth-place finish in the Tokyo Olympics after working for eight years on him. I know AFP does not have an answer to this question.

People know that Bukhari was not sent with Arshad to the US, Birmingham and Turkey. But God always helps those who are on the right path. God kept Bukhari's prestige a few days ago in Bangkok when his other pupil Mohammad Yasir Sultan took bronze in the 25th Asian Athletics Championship in Bangkok. Yasir managed his personal best throw of 79.93 metres to finish with a bronze medal.

On trials day, AFP chief Major General (retd) Mohammad Akram Sahi assigned the task to Bukhari to prepare Yasir for the Asian Championship. And Bukhari worked on him for 25 days and the outcome was amazing. Before this brief coaching stint, Yasir used to get training from Bukhari on a personal basis. He remained attached with Bukhari for almost six months and I have also seen them training before the official camp of the AFP for the Asian Championship.

The credit goes to Bukhari who gave Pakistan two top javelin throwers in the shape of Arshad and Yasir.

Yasir stuck around 75 metre for three years and training under Bukhari helped him break that fold and improved a lot. Yasir had also managed his personal best throw of 77.50m at the 34th National Games in Quetta whose results were not recognised by the AFP.

Now the question is why we should look after foreign coaches if we have a coach in Bukhari who has proved himself by producing two solid javelin throwers. Why don't we respect him? He deserves accolades. I would suggest to the AFP to put both injured Arshad and Yasir under Bukhari's training as he knows both well. Bukhari knows exactly the faults of Yasir which need to be removed.

And it will take time.

Yasir was also sent to South Africa with Arshad for training but it did not yield any result.

It would be unjust if AFP kept Arshad and Yasir under different coaches. Both should be given to Bukhari who knows their psyche well and can handle them easily.

Instead of spending heavily on foreign coaches if Bukhari is paid what he deserves it will further motivate him to work harder and with more enthusiasm on his pupils.

The AFP will need to think realistically. It did not give protocol to Yasir at the Allama Iqbal Airport Lahore while returning from Bangkok after winning the bronze medal in the Asian Championship.

Bukhari and Yasir's own family and friends received him at the airport.

The AFP should answer why it tried to downplay this big occasion. Winning a medal at the Asian Championship is not a joke.

Why do we discourage our own athletes who perform so well?

I remember when Naseem Hameed won gold in the South Asian Games in Dhaka in 100m, the whole of Karachi had come out to greet her.

But when Yasir was landing there was no one from AFP or Punjab government to welcome him. Where was the AFP press conference after Yasir's landing. AFP used to hold press conferences when Arshad would land. There is substance in my words for those who understand the situation.

In the end I would advise the authorities to do justice and work on merit.

73.alam@gmail.com