hings are not well with Pakistan's sports. There is no assistance seen from the state as far as the Paris Olympics Qualifiers are concerned.

The country's No2 javelin thrower Mohammad Yasir Sultan has started training for Olympics Qualifiers but there is no support from the state or even from the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP). He meets his own food expenses. He doesn't know even how many events AFP will send him to. He is very close to qualifying for the Olympics and can manage it any time until June 30, 2024, the timeline set by the World Athletics for the purpose.

Besides him, the world silver medallist Arshad Nadeem's injury remains shrouded in mystery. Although he has qualified for the Paris Olympics, whether he will be able to prepare for the biggest event or not nobody knows.

The AFP is also silent. The other day the AFP Secretary General told me that every effort would be made to make him fit for the Olympics.

But on the ground nothing serious is seen. Arshad has not trained for the last five months and has missed three major events at the continental level due to the injury.

Sources said that Arshad has lost his track and it will be very difficult for him to return to the international circuit soon due to various reasons. I know the reasons and will describe them at some other time. I know what is being done but for the country's prestige sake I don't want to disclose this at this stage.

We sometimes mishandle things and several actors give their input to manipulate things.

We want Arshad to return to the international circuit as soon as possible. He is a fine athlete and can do wonders even if he trains for just three months for the Paris Olympics. He already has the experience of playing in the Tokyo Olympics in which he finished fifth. But Arshad should know his status as an athlete. He should not prioritise money as it will come automatically if he delivers for the country at the major stages. He should keep Pakistan at the priority and should work on his fitness issues.

There is no need even from the state to support him financially as he has earned a lot of money and after cricketers he is the richest sportsman in Pakistan's sports circle. He can spend money on his training even from his own pocket. He should know how professionals grow.

Besides Arshad and Yasir, our boxers have also started their training for next year's world qualification rounds for the Olympics at the Railways Stadium, Lahore, the other day.

As many as 16 boxers, 12 men and four women, have been invited for the training camp being handled by Olympian Arshad Hussain and Tariq Siddiqui.

Here too the state has given no input. Pakistan Boxing Federation says that it has written to the state but so far no reply has been received.

The biggest task is how to meet the diet expenses of the boxers. In this era of high inflation it is not easy for the federation to meet the diet cost of its athletes during training camps as food is too expensive.

Let's see how the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) manages things.

The Hangzhou Asian Games were the first qualifying event for the Olympics but there our boxers failed to advance beyond the quarter-finals stage.

However, in the world qualification rounds to be held in March and June Pakistani pugilists, especially Zohaib Rasheed, can pull off surprises.

Pakistan last featured in 2004 Athens Olympics in boxing.

Meanwhile, our national wrestlers are also waiting for the state's response as far as their training camp for the Olympics Qualifiers is concerned.

They will need to feature in the Asian and World Qualifying round next year.

They faltered at the first hurdle in the World Championships in Serbia last September which was also the qualifying round for the Paris Olympics.

They need quality training on foreign soil as they require quality sparring with the world's best.

Pakistan Wrestling Federation plans to utilise a youngster also in the Qualifiers.

Two wrestlers, Mohammad Bilal and Zaman Anwar, are in the US these days while Mohammad Inam is in Pakistan besides Youth Olympics bronze medallist Inayatullah, who is undergoing training in Peshawar. But a PWF source told me that Inayat is not that serious in training and needs to change his attitude if he is to click at the major stage.

Let's see how PWF handles things. What I see is that it would be very difficult for the PWF to train its wrestlers the way it should. The wrestling world is very competitive and the way we handle our sports it's very difficult for our wrestlers to get through the Qualifiers.

They need at least four months of quality training from now onwards but there are no signs of this happening.

Taekwondo is another discipline in which national fighters will try to press for the Olympics seats. The Asian Qualifiers will be held in China next year. Iranian coach Yousuf Karami is expected to prepare a fine lot for the Qualifiers. Karami is a former world champion and knows how the fighters are prepared.

Haroon Khan, Shahzaib and Ihtisham are the fighters who could spring surprises.

Let's see what we do on that front.

Managing training camps and foreign tours is not difficult for the Pakistan Taekwondo Federation as it can get sponsors and the federation has shown this over the years.

So far shooters Ghulam Mustafa Bashir, Joseph Gulfam, Arshad Nadeem and Melbourne-based eventer Usman Khan have qualified for the Paris Olympics. Usman will need to maintain his rankings in the qualifying time frame.

73.alam@gmail.com