He has qualified for the next year’s Tokyo Olympics. Despite global Covid-19 issues, the organisers in Japan and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are committed to conducting the games as per the revised schedule next summer.

And if it is so then Pakistan will have to prepare its players accordingly. There is no excuse. And ways and options will have to be sought to find some solution to the problems impeding training of our athletes.

Look, Arshad is a big medal hope for Pakistan in next year’s Olympics. He created ripples when he blasted his way into the event with an 86.29 metre throw during the 13th South Asian Games in Nepal last year. He is the first Pakistani athlete in the sport of athletics to have made it to the Olympics directly. Before him, Pakistan used to feature in Olympics in athletics only on wild card entries (for one male and one female).

Arshad and four other top athletes were sent to China for training which was cut short by the outbreak of Covid-19. Immediately after returning to Pakistan he was put in a camp at Lahore but that was also closed in March due to the country-wide lockdowns.

For a few months, the Covid situation in Pakistan turned better. That was the proper time for Arshad to be at the camp again with his coach Fayyaz Hussain Bukhari. However, nothing was done for him. And now the second wave of coronavirus has engulfed the whole country. Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) has written to the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) for a 100-day training camp in the first phase for Arshad. However, so far nothing has been made final. It all depends on the IPC Ministry. It must realise that Arshad is not an ordinary athlete and he aims to fight for a medal in Tokyo.

The non-serious attitude of the IPC ministry and the PSB is not a new thing. Any further delay in launching camp for Arshad, either at Islamabad or Lahore, will affect the athlete badly.

Arshad will need two months to regain his rhythm. It is not easy to regain the fitness and form which an athlete loses by staying idle at home. Light exercise is nothing. Arshad will start from zero when he comes to the camp. The IPC ministry should not waste time and immediately approve a training camp for Arshad.

Under Covid protocols training is very much possible. The IPC ministry should grab this chance. Arshad is the son of the nation and deserves better treatment. Such athletes with enormous potential are rare. Give respect to him. He travels in buses. Nobody sees this. The people occupying high posts at the IPC ministry and PSB exist because of these athletes. It is ridiculous that Arshad’s precious time is being wasted. The AFP had managed a training programme for Arshad in Kazakhstan but due to the flight issues the athlete cannot go there.

I urge the AFP to seek an alternative. It should explore other options. Arshad could take a by-road link after flying to any country sharing a border with Kazakhstan.

Arshad needs training despite the tough situation. It is our duty to manage that for him.

If foreign training is not possible then hiring a foreign coach for six months is not that tough if the state comes to support AFP in the cause. The officials should not think that the Olympics can be cancelled. It is the job of Japan and the IOC. Our job is to provide quality training to our budding lot aiming to do something big. The country’s shooters, who have qualified for Olympics, also deserve to be supported. They have done wonders.

The other day Melbourne-based equestrian Usman Khan rushed to restore the membership of the Equestrian Federation of Pakistan (EFP) by paying the annual subscription fee of the national association with the international equestrian governing body (FEI). Had Usman not done so, he could have missed the Olympic qualifying event being in operation in Robertson these days.

The other day EFP told me through an email after Pakistan’s membership was restored through timely effort of Usman, “Don’t worry, the fee for 2020 has also been paid. EFP is no longer suspended by the international body.” Is this the responsibility of the athlete to pay the fee on your behalf? How can these people be so non-serious? Does Pakistan need Usman or he needs Pakistan? We should think about what we are doing. Usman made history to make it to the Olympics. He spent 15 long years in hard labour to achieve this. And what we are doing is ridiculous. We should learn to respect our heroes. Let’s make a serious effort and put our sports on the right track before it’s too late.

73.alam@gmail.com