Pakistan sports on rise

[Omar1984]

Pakistan sports on rise ​

The 16th Asian Games 2010 held in China were a blessing in disguise for Pakistan. The rejoicing that followed an encouraging performance by Pakistan and celebrations in a grand style that continue till today reflect the feelings of the whole nation. Our sportsmen and women who brought laurels for Pakistan by winning gold medals in their respective events fully deserved the applause. The sports atmosphere that remained depressed during the last two decades has all of a sudden revived its lost glory as well as brightness. The achievement has raised the morale and spirits of millions of sports lovers who have started to feel that our sports standards are surely on the rise.

Seen in the light of our degenerated sports standards the clinching of gold medals in hockey, squash and women’s cricket in a row is a big achievement. The analysis of the historical triumph in hockey has shown that the superior physical fitness, hard work and dedication of the players were the major factors which helped the team to emerge as the winners. The team deserved special commendations for defeating the hard fighting Malaysia who ousted a strong Indian team in the semifinals while the Greenshirts had lost to India in an earlier encounter. There is no doubt that Pakistan ruled over the international hockey field by winning the World Olympics, Asia Cup and the Champions Trophy many times in the past. Winning the Asian Games gold after a lapse of twenty years is surely bound to raise the morale and spirits of the players and motivate them for a similar performance in the London Olympics 2012. The grand victory being a collective team effort, all the players deserve high praise.

The squash having been included for the first time in the Asian Games, it is a strange coincident that Pakistan won its team event gold medal also by defeating Malaysia. Pakistan’s Aamir Atlas Khan defeated Mohammad Azlan Iskandar of Malaysia in the finals to clinch the top honours. To recall the good old days of squash when a galaxy of stalwarts from Pakistan dominated the game, one finds that about half a dozen Pakistan players used to be on top of the world ranking. Pakistan enjoyed the distinction of being the undefeated world champions for nearly two decades. Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan were the last in the long line of gold medallists.

It is, however, surprising that in the presence of both of them, how is it that the standards of our squash went down the drain. There could not be better coaches in the world than these two. Why did not the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) entrust them the job of re-building Pakistan’s squash and raise its standard to world level. All is not lost yet. The success in the Guangzhou Games indicates that Pakistan has the potential to conquer the world heights again.

Coming to the most talked about game of cricket, our women’s cricket team has won the gold medal, something that our men’s team failed to do for many years. While our men’s cricket team frustrated cricket lovers by their poor performance the women players have won their hearts. The girls deserve the bouquets for their splendid performance. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) must pay due attention to this brand of cricket and do not let the girls’ brilliance go waste. The women’s cricket must be build to achieve higher goals. Coming to men’s cricket, the 2-Test series against South Africa staged in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) also ended in a happy note. Against all odds the Pakistan team performed magnificently well. Although South Africa had an upper hand, Pakistan’s efforts to save the team from defeat and steering the game towards draw were fully commensurate with the pressure under which our team was performing. Since a chain of unfavorable events had put the team under stress and strain it was wise to play safe. Skipper Misbahul Haq deserved all the appreciation for a gallant performance both as captain as well as player. The sum total of the series has shown that Pakistan has the talent that needs further coaching and proper handling by the management. I feel that Pakistan’s cricket is on the rise, something that must be assessed properly and maintained. The best method to achieve this objective would be to defeat New Zealand on their home grounds during the forthcoming tour and prepare well for the World Cup 2011 which is only a couple of months away.

(The writer is a former PCB chief executive officer)

 

[Kinetic]

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