The recently-concluded Commonwealth Games were the 22nd edition of this event. They were originally called the British Empire Games, then transitioned to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954, were renamed as the British Commonwealth Games in 1970 before the name was finally shortened to simply the Commonwealth Games in 1978.

The idea of these Games was first envisioned in August 1891 by an English clergyman Reverend John Astley Cooper, who wrote to The Times newspaper as well as to an imperial publication called Greater Britain, asking for regular sporting competitions for the entire British Empire. He suggested the name 'Pan-Britannic Festival' for these proposed events. The plan generated much discussion but bore little fruit initially. It gained momentum when the President of the Australian Amateur Union, Richard Coombes took up the cause and in 1911, twenty years after it was first mooted, a 'Festival of Empire' was held at Crystal Palace in London as part of the celebrations to mark the coronation of King George V. The festival consisted of a number of exhibitions along with some sporting events.

There were no further initiatives until 1928, when during the course of the Olympic Games in Amsterdam, the manager of the Canadian delegation Mr. M.M. Robinson resurrected the idea and offered to host the 'British Empire Games' in Canada in 1930. Thus, in August 1930 the first official British Empire Games were held in Hamilton, Canada, six months after the death of their original proponent Reverend Cooper.

In 1954 the 5th British Empire and Commonwealth Games, as they were now called, were held in Vancouver, Canada, and they marked Pakistan's entry into this competition. Pakistan won 1 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze medals in these Games. Mohammad Iqbal with a throw of 55.37 metres, a new Games record, won the hammer throw competition while Mohammad Nawaz with a distance of 68.09 metres and Jalal Khan with 67.50 meters won silver and bronze medals respectively in the javelin throw. In the wrestling competition Mohammad Amin and Abdul Rasheed won silver medals in the bantamweight and welterweight categories respectively, while Mohammad Din won a bronze medal in the flyweight division.

The 6th British Empire and Commonwealth Games were staged in Cardiff, Wales. Pakistan claimed 3 Gold medals, 5 Silver medals and 2 Bronze medals overall. In athletics Muhammad Iqbal with a heave of 61.70 metres won silver in the hammer throw and Jalal Khan hurled the javelin 70.83 metres for another silver medal. Ghulam Raziq won a bronze medal in the 120 yards hurdles where his time was 14.32 seconds and Mohammad Ramzan was third in the long jump with a leap of 7.33 metres. Pakistan's medal tally in wrestling was again substantial. Gold medals were won by Mohammad Akhtar in the bantamweight section, Mohammad Ashraf in the lightweight category and Mohammad Bashir in the welterweight class. Shujauddin, Sirajuddin, and Mohammad Ali all won silver medals in the flyweight, featherweight and light heavyweight categories respectively.

Perth, Australia, was the venue for the 7th British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1962. Pakistan won 8 Gold medals and a solitary Silver medal in these games. In athletics Ghulam Raziq was the winner of the 120 yards hurdles event with a time of 14.34 seconds. However, it was in the wrestling competition that the Pakistan team really hit the headlines. Their eight member team won 7 golds and a silver, completely annihilating all opponents. Gold medal winners were Niaz Mohammad in flyweight, Sirajuddin in bantamweight, Alauddin in featherweight, Mohammad Akhtar in lightweight, Mohammad Bashir in welterweight, Faiz Mohammad in middleweight and Mohammad Niaz in the heavyweight divisions. The only weight category in which Pakistan did not win a gold medal was in the light heavyweight section where Mohammad Saeed got the silver medal. Such near absolute dominance in any sport is unparalleled in the history of these or any other games. Interestingly 7 out of Pakistan's 8 gold medals were won on the same day, 29th November, which the eminent sportswriter John Turvey subsequently dubbed as 'Pakistan Day'.

The 8th British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica. Pakistan again performed creditably winning 4 Golds 1 Silver and 4 Bronze medals. In athletics Pakistan obtained 3 bronze through the stalwarts Ghulam Raziq, Mohammad Iqbal and Mohammad Nawaz. Raziq's time in the 120 yards hurdles event was 14.30 seconds, Iqbal managed 59.56 metres in the hammer throw and Nawaz reached a distance of 69.94 metres in the javelin throw. Pakistan's wrestlers again excelled winning 4 golds, a silver and a bronze. Three of the gold medalists were the seasoned veterans Mohammad Akhtar in featherweight, Mohammad Bashir in welterweight and Faiz Mohammad in middleweight. The fourth gold medalist was the newcomer Mohammad Nazir in the flyweight division. Ikram Elahi who won silver in the heavyweight category would also have won gold if he was not hampered by an ankle injury. Mohammad Saeed bagged a bronze medal in the bantamweight section.

Edinburgh hosted the 9th British Commonwealth Games, the new name for the event. Pakistan did well to earn 10 medals in total. Their tally included 4 Gold, 3 Silver and 3 Bronze medals. The bulk of the medals were again won on the wrestling mat, where Pakistan continued to be a major force. Mohammad Saeed, the bronze medal winner at Kingston, moved up a weight from bantamweight to featherweight and won gold. Similarly, Ikram Elahi, a silver medalist at Kingston moved up a weight from heavyweight to heavyweight-plus and got gold. Faiz Mohammad too, moved up a weight from middleweight to light heavyweight and won his third consecutive gold medal in these championships. The fourth gold medal was won by the newcomer Sardar Mohammad in the bantamweight division. The two silver medalists were Mohammad Nazir in flyweight and Mohammad Yaqub in the lightweight category. Sadiq Masih in light flyweight and Mohammad Riaz in the heavyweight class won bronze medals. In these games Pakistan also won medals for the first time in boxing and weightlifting. Samad Mir got a bronze in the boxing featherweight group, while Abdul Ghafoor lifted a total of 287.5 kg to win silver in the flyweight division in weightlifting.

Following its exit from the commonwealth, Pakistan missed the 1974-1986 editions of these games. They returned to compete in the 15th Commonwealth Games (as they were now named) held in Auckland, New Zealand in 1990, but came away empty handed without winning any medals.

The 16th Commonwealth Games took place in Victoria, Canada. Pakistan won 3 bronze medals in all, 1 in boxing and 2 in wrestling. The medal winner in boxing was Arshad Hussain while the wrestlers who got on to the medal podium were Mohammad Umar and Mohammad Bhola in the lightweight and middleweight categories respectively.

In 1998 the 17th Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the first Asian location for these championships . Pakistan's performance was dismal, with Ali Asghar's silver in the flyweight or 60 kg weight category in boxing being the country's sole medal.

In the 18th Commonwealth Games staged in Manchester, England, in 2002, Pakistan put up a better performance winning 1 Gold, 3 Silver and 4 Bronze medals. This 8 medal tally was spread across 5 sports. The solitary gold medal was won by Haider Ali in the featherweight or 54 kg division in boxing. The three silver medals were all won by Mohammad Irfan in the 69 kg category in weightlifting, with a medal each in the snatch, clean and jerk and combined sections. Pakistan won 2 bronze medals in shooting; Irshad Ali in the Men's 25 meter Centre Fire Pistol Individual section and Irshad Ali with Zahid Ali in the Men's 25 meter Centre Fire Pistol Pairs competition. Pakistan's Mohammad Bhola got a bronze medal in the 96 kg weight category in wrestling while the fourth bronze medal was won by the Pakistan hockey team.

Melbourne was the site for the 19th Commonwealth Games in 2006. Pakistan won a total of 5 medals comprising 1 Gold, 3 Silvers and I Bronze. In weightlifting Shujauddin Malik won gold in the 85 kg body weight category, and also set a new Games record of 193 kg in the clean and jerk segment. Another weight-lifter, Mohammad Irfan, won a bronze in the 77 kg body weight class. The three silver medalists were Mehrullah Lassi in boxing in the featherweight or 57 kg division, Irshad Ali in shooting in the Men's 25 metres Standard Pistol Singles, and the national hockey team which lost to Australia in the finals.

In the 19th Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010, Pakistan secured 2 Golds, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze medals. The two golds and solitary silver were all won in wrestling. Mohammad Inam got gold in the 84 kg freestyle section, while Azhar Husain topped the 55 kg Freestyle category and finished as runner up in 55 kg Greco-Roman style. This was Pakistan's first ever medal in the Greco-Roman class of wrestling, all their previous wrestling medals having been obtained in the Freestyle format. The two bronze medals were won in the boxing ring through Mohammad Waseem in the 48 kg or light flyweight category and Haroon Iqbal in the flyweight or 51 kg division.

The venue for the 20th Commonwealth Games in 2014 was Glasgow, Scotland. Pakistan collected 3 Silver medals and one Bronze medal in these championships. In boxing Mohammad Waseem won a silver in the flyweight or 52 kg category, his second successive Commonwealth Wealth Games medal. Pakistan also won a silver in Judo, its first ever medal in this sport at a major competition. The medalist was Shah Husain Shah in the half-heavyweight or 100 kg category. In wrestling Qamar Abbas won a silver medal in the 74 kg section while Azhar Husain obtained 3rd position in the 57 kg weight group.

The 21st Commonwealth Games took place in the Gold Coast in Australia in 2018. Pakistan's haul was 1 Gold medal and 4 Bronze medals. In wrestling Mohammad Inam repeated his performance of 2010 and won gold in the 84 kg freestyle group, with bronze medals for Mohammad Bilal and Tayab Raza in the 57 kg and 125 kg freestyle categories respectively. There were 2 bronze medals in weightlifting as well, the medalists being Talha Talib in the 62 kg group and Mohammad Nooh Dastgir Butt in the 105+ kg section.

In the recently concluded 22nd Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England, Pakistan obtained 8 medals in 4 disciplines. This number included 2 Gold, 3 Silver and 3 Bronze medals. In athletics Pakistan won a gold medal after a long wait of 60 years. In fact it was their first medal of any colour in athletics for 56 years. The hero of this feat was the young javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem who won with a personal best and Games record throw of 90.18 meters. The other gold was won by Mohammad Nooh Dastgir Butt who reigned supreme in the 109+ kg category in weight lifting. In the process Nooh Dastgir Butt also set new Games records of 173 kg in the snatch, 232 kg in the clean and jerk and 405 kg in the combined sections. In wrestling Mohammad Sharif Tahir, Mohammad Inam and Zaman Anwar all won silver medals in the 74 kg, 86 kg and 125 kg sections respectively. Wrestling bronze medals were secured by Ali Asad in the 57 kg category and Inayatullah in the 65 kg class.

In summary Pakistan has participated in fourteen Commonwealth Games winning 27 gold medals, 27 silver medals and 29 bronze medals, for a total of 83 podium finishes. These medals have been won in 7 disciplines with wrestling claiming the lion's share of 47, including 21 golds. Athletics is second with 12 medals, followed by weightlifting with 9 and boxing with 8 medals respectively.

Sport can play a crucial role in nation building. It helps to bring together people from diverse backgrounds and develop a sense of patriotism and unity. Rooting for the country's team and its sporting stars is a bonding process and successes on the sports field generate a feeling of national pride and self esteem. Investing in sport is an investment in creating a healthy and integrated nation.

– Dr Salman Faridi is a senior surgeon, poet, sports aficionado and an avid reader with a private collection of over 7000 books.

salmanfaridilnh@hotmail.com