Daily Times

In a disappointing turn of events, Pakistan’s renowned Olympian javelin thrower, Arshad Nadeem, has withdrawn from the upcoming Asian Athletics Championship due to a knee injury. This unfortunate development was announced by the president of the Athletic Federation of Pakistan, who expressed regret over Arshad’s participation in the recent national games held in Quetta.

The star athlete’s withdrawal highlights how glaring mismanagement and inadequate infrastructure continue to plague our sports rankings. Isn’t it downright ironic that Arshad was our biggest hope to raise the crescent-adorned flag in front of the international community? The extremely rare instances of homegrown talent have been known to quickly fizzle out because of our crippling lack of coordination and foresight. Fully aware of the prestigious meet right around the corner, both Arshad and his parent department should have thought twice before sending him out to perform on the substandard tracks used during the national games. This resulted in injuries to several more participants, who, through no fault of their own, would suffer setbacks in their careers, thanks to flaws in our sports infrastructure. How can we expect our rising stars to excel on the international stage if they are forced to make do with amenities that jeopardize their physical well-being?

Arshad’s injury has not only robbed him of an opportunity to represent Pakistan but also undermined our chances of success in the Asian Championship.

This unfortunate incident is just one example of the persistent mismanagement plaguing our sports scene. Budgetary constraints continue to hinder the development of athletes and prevent them from reaching their full potential. With such poor management and a lack of proper infrastructure, we put our athletes against those coming from the best sports ecosystem. Moreover, instances of mismanagement have become all too common. Tokyo Olympics and Rio Olympics served as a stark reminder of this, with the number of officials outnumbering the participating sportsmen. Such a dismal state of affairs only serves to further undermine the credibility of our administration and cast doubts on their commitments to fostering a conducive environment for athletes to thrive.

What happened to Arshad could have served as a wake-up call to evaluate our priorities list but going by the chequered past, chances of improvement remain quite slim. *