Pakistan won its last Olympics medal in 1992 Barcelona Games. Our hockey team clinched bronze under the leadership of Shahbaz Ahmad that year. Since then the country has been struggling in the Olympics.

Now, after three decades, there is some hope that Pakistan will be able to win a medal or two in the forthcoming Tokyo Games which will be formally opened on July 23.

Of the ten players which Pakistan will be fielding, javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem and weightlifter Talha Talib can finish on the victory podium. The two have entered the Games in contrasting fashions.

Arshad has directly qualified while Talha is going to make his Olympics debut on the IOC Tripartite Commission place. Both are highly talented and have done the required homework to give some good news to Pakistan.

Arshad, who has already managed a fine 86.38m throw, is determined to break the 90metre mark which can land him on the victory podium. Having a bronze to his credit in the 2018 Asian Games, Arshad is perfectly placed and is expected to give tough time to the world’s best on his Olympics debut.

Talha recently showed his guts by clinching a snatch bronze in the Asian Championship in Tashkent, finishing overall fourth with a total of 315 kg — 148 in snatch and 167 in clean and jerk.

He is not far behind the world’s best, standing at the eighth place in the 67kg world rankings. If he is able to manage 175 in clean and jerk and also improves his snatch record then he may compete for a medal.

In the Olympics, medals are awarded on the basis of total score. Talha, the bronze medallist of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, is mentally strong and can live up to the expectations although I can say with authority that he has trained with sub-standard equipment.

Besides these two, we will have three shooters, experienced Ghulam Mustafa Bashir, Khalil Akhtar and Gulfam Jospeh, in the Olympics. The first two will compete in the 25 metre rapid fire pistol while Joseph will play in the 10m air pistol. This is the second time that Ghulam Mustafa Bashir will be playing in the Olympics. He was also part of Pakistan contingent for the 2016 Rio Olympics but had not impressed. Khalil and Ghulam Mustafa are not in the top 20 in the world rankings. Joseph too is far behind in his event which shows that we have no medal chance in shooting unless something unimaginable happens.

Tokyo-based judoka Shah Hussain will be fielding for the second time successively in the Olympics. However, we cannot expect a medal-winning performance from him. He has been mostly seen falling in the second or third round at major events. We have not found him going deep in the Olympics qualifiers and so expecting a medal from him would not be realistic. Yes, he is serious and has the experience. It will be interesting how he expresses himself in his hometown. Shah has qualified for Tokyo Games on the basis of the continental quota.

The country’s top shuttler Mahoor Shahzad, who also has earned IOC place, will create history when she becomes the first Pakistani shuttle to compete in the Olympics.

In women singles, she has been drawn with World No5 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan and World No26 Kirsty Gilmoir of Scotland. It will be interesting to see how the World No146 Mahoor performs against them.

Athlete Najma Parveen will be looking to pull off her best in the 200m race while swimmers Haseeb Tariq and Bisma Khan will be aiming to improve their personal best in their respective events of 100m freestyle and 50m freestyle. The duo will play on wild cards.

Let’s see how our athletes showcase their talent. No doubt they are the country’s best and they should pull off their best.

One thing which I have noted is that in some disciplines where coaches needed to be sent with the players the federations’ top officials are set to go to Tokyo. This culture should end. There is a huge communication gap between athletes and their federation’s officials. With coaches, players feel more confident and easy and that can motivate them to put in their best.

In the first phase on Friday, the three shooters, Mahoor, Haseeb and Bisma flew out of Islamabad for Tokyo. They will have reached Tokyo when this piece appears. Talha will go on July 21 and Arshad and Najma will proceed to Tokyo via Doha on July 22.

Pakistan will begin their shooting journey on July 24 at the Asaka Shooting Range. Mahoor will also start her journey on the same date. Shah Hussain will fight on July 29. Najma will compete in 200 metre race on August 2. Arshad will play in javelin throw qualifying round on August 4. If he qualifies then he will play the final on August 7. Talha will compete in 67kg on July 25 .

It’s clear that the athletes have not got any quality training which could have added to their performance. Arshad and shooters got some training on foreign soil which may give them some benefit. Talha has only trained at his home in Gujranwala under the coaching of his father Mohammad Islam. Let’s see how our players compete in the Tokyo Games.

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