So far in the Tokyo Olympics, Pakistan’s performance has been as per expectations. Five athletes have so far competed in the Tokyo Games and they all have exited. Five more are yet to compete. When this article appears swimmer Bisma Khan will have competed.The only positive so far has been weightlifter Talha Talib’s performance. He did a wonderful job by finishing fifth in the 67kg event with a weight of 320 kilogramme. He just missed the bronze by two kilogramme. Had he not missed lifting 166kg in his first attempt in clean and jerk he could have set a tougher target for the opponents but still his performance has made Pakistan proud. He created his best performances in both snatch and clean and jerk. He bettered his snatch from 148 to 150 and his clean and jerk from 167 to 170. He is just 21 and has a lot of time. The way he delivered in Tokyo is an eye opener for the authorities. Talha is a raw talent. He had to compete with the polished talent of the world. His stunning effort should force the sport governing bodies in Pakistan to focus on this boy. He had not directly qualified for the Olympics but entered on IOC Tripartite Commission Invitation Place. A couple of months ago he showed wonders in the Asian Championship in Tashkent by winning bronze in snatch, a medal which Pakistan got at this level after four decades.

Being a raw talent he has done his best. Now it’s time to invest in this boy from Gujranwala who has been developed by his father Mohammad Islam Natiq, a former powerlifter. Talha trained throughout at the outdoor zone at a school near his home in Gujranwala which is the hub of weightlifting.

He plays for WAPDA, which for the last five years has not given him any increment. I think it’s time to give Talha a top scale so that it could help the athlete in further building his career. Our media starts talking about Olympic sports only when there are some world level Games. Now media is crying everywhere in Pakistan and criticising the sports governing bodies for not focusing on the Olympics sports. It’s time for us to highlight the Olympics sports regularly in order to keep the authorities focused on their job.

Talha was never assisted by the sports governing bodies the way he should have been. Yes, there was some support from here and there but not the type of backing which a professional needs. Had Talha been living in a developed country millions of dollars would have been spent in him.

The sports governing bodies exit because of such athletes, so they must respect them. I hope the state will take Talha under its wings, invest in him and he will be able to finish at the victory podium in the 2024 Paris Olympics. He is a complete package and may earn several medals at various major stages in future.

Talha is not the only weightlifter who is capable of doing well. The authorities will explain where Nooh Dastgeer Butt is. Butt is even more talented. He passed through some fitness issues but he is also a stunning boy who needs state attention.

The state should establish a hall at Gujranwala with state-of-the-art equipment so that Talha and others could train there on permanent basis. This is the only way he can be assisted. Talha through the Prime Minister’s portal requested several times a hall and equipment at Gujranwala but got no response.

His father, who had trained him for the Olympics, should have been sent to Tokyo with him. Talha himself says that he needed four coaches.

Everybody is crying that the federations’ top officials should not have accompanied their athletes and coaches should have been sent with them but they don’t care. This culture of joy-riding must be ended. Sports must be run as business are — with full dedication to beat others.

Besides Talha, shooter Gulfam Jospeh also put in his best effort but failed to make it to the finals of the 10m air pistol competitions, finishing ninth.

The other shooters Khalil Akhtar and Ghulam Mustafa Bashir are yet to play in the 25m rapid fire pistol.

Mahoor Shahzad became the first Pakistani shuttler to feature in the Olympics. She lost both her group matches to players from Japan and Great Britain to get eliminated. She featured in Tokyo Games on the basis of the IOC place.

But Mahoor will be remembered for her racist comments she made at the world’s top sporting extravaganza in Tokyo. She spoke against Pathans, hurting the sentiments of the whole community. Although she has apologised but the damage can hardly be repaired.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) prohibits such things. It should not have happened, particularly because the PBF Secretary General Wajid Ali Chaudhry was accompanying Mahoor during Olympics.

Strict action should be taken against the Secretary General of PBF. The chef de mission will definitely explain this thing in his report. The matter should be thoroughly investigated.

Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) has expresses serious concern on the remarks of Mahoor. “We strongly believe that any kind of discrimination by words or actions under any circumstances is against the Olympic Spirit and therefore the comment is strongly condemned,” it said.

POA has advised Pakistan Badminton Federation to submit a detailed report within a week with their recommendations, on receipt of which POA shall take necessary and appropriate measures.

It was again a poor event for Japan-based judoka Shah Hussain who faltered at the first hurdle and was eliminated when he was undone by the Egyptian fighter Darwish Ramadan in the -100 kilogramme round of 32 fight on Thursday.

This was the second successive time in the Olympics when Shah lost his first fight. In 2016 Rio Games he lost to a Ukrainian fighter in his first fight. Two Olympics and no win is a poor show indeed. Shah had qualified for the Olympics on the basis of the the continental quota.

Swimmer Syed Haseeb Tariq also failed to do well and finished short of his personal best time in the 100 metre freestyle competition on July 27.

Athlete Najma Parveen will be seen in action in the 200m race on August 2.

Yes, we have a huge hope of a medal in the shape of javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem who will compete in the qualifying event on August 4. If he qualifies for finals then it will be interesting how Arshad goes for a medal in the finals to be held on August 7.

Arshad will enter the Olympics with his personal best throw of 86.38metre which he managed during an international event in Mashhad, Iran, last April. Let’s see how the Khanewal-born athlete copes with the pressure at the biggest stage.

One point which I should mention here is that our sports governing bodies should not blame each other for the failure of Pakistan’s athletes in Tokyo. I always say unless they put in coordinated effort nothing will improve. The whole system is responsible for the athletes failure in the Olympics. Putting blame on a single body is not right. No one is clean. I hope the sports governing bodies bury the hatchet and re-unite for the betterment of the country’s sports which need our attention.

73.alam@gmail.com