By Capt Shumaila Chaudhry
The recently held 2024 Paris Olympics brought great pleasure to the Pleasure Starved nation of Pakistan when a son of the soil Arshad Nadeem not only won Gold Medal in individual event of Javelin Throw but also set a new Olympic Record.
This 6 foot 3 boy belongs to a small town Mianchannu near Khanewal.
Due to this achievement Pakistan won a gold in olympics after 40 years since Hockey Gold in 1984 Olympics.
Performance in sports and athletics is a measure of fitness and health standards of not only individuals but also of a nation as a whole.
Sadly we with a population of 240 million are nowhere near much smaller nations in world level games and athletics. Field hockey was once our favorite sport with a few Olympic and World Championships. Then Squash at individual level was dominated for years by legends like Jehangir Khan and Jansher Khan besides a few earlier champs. In mid 1990s Pakistan held four World Championships including Hockey, Squash, Cricket, and Snooker. In those days good players were not only sponsored by the government but were also given good jobs in institutions like PIA, WAPDA, Railways, Banks, and Armed Forces, to name a few.
Then we saw decline in these games due to poor management and politics in sports organizations.
Cricket became more commercial and popular due to big money, pushing Hockey and Squash in doldrums. As a matter of fact hype in cricket snubbed other sports in Pakistan although only once Cricket World Cup was won whereas Hockey and Squash had brought more laurels to the country.
Now Arshad Nadeem’s record breaking Olympic Gold has brought a new ray of hope as it will encourage youth to take part in individual sports and athletic events. Another good news received is about Squash. In a historic triumph for Pakistan, Hamza Khan has won the World Junior Squash Championship, bringing home the country’s first squash title in nearly four decades. The 17-year-old athlete displayed exceptional skill and determination, defeating Egypt’s Mohamed Zakaria in a thrilling match.
In Venezuela a Pakistan Cadet has won gold in 400 meters dash. There are also news pouring in of good performance by Pakistani athletes in other sports. I believe Arshad Nadeem’s Javelin has triggered this attention towards sports other than Cricket that anyway lies at very low level now.
Hence all the more reason for the government and sports ministries and federations to encourage, sponsor, and groom youth for different team and individual games by putting right managers on top. Training must start from the school level and going up to College and University level matches and national level leagues to pick up the right potential.
Lets improve the overall health and fitness standards of ours as a nation by manifesting it through good performance in sports at the regional, Asian, and World levels. Let that be the long term impact of Arshad Nadeem’s record breaking throw. PAK DESTINY
