LAHORE: The National Olympic Committee (NOC) Pakistan held a hectic one-day sports seminar titled ‘Way Forward in Sports’ at a local hotel here on Sunday. The speakers during the seminar came up with different suggestions for the betterment of sports in the country with government-run Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) earning speakers’ ire. However, the Pakistan Olympic Association-sponsored seminar ended without passing any resolution. Though a good number of seasoned sports organisers delivered speeches that were mainly based on demands from the national sports federations, none from the government side came in front to inform the audience about government’s future plan how to develop sports in the country.
It ironic that Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) minister Riaz Pirzada and provincial sports ministers of four provinces were invited but they did not turn up to share their views at the seminar which was organised to discuss the shortcomings of sports industry. However, Gilgit-Baltistan sports minister Fida Khan Fida attended the seminar and highlighted problems f aced by Gilgit-Baltistan. PSB director general Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera and Punjab sports secretary Nayyer Iqbal attended the seminar but did not share their views of plight of sports in the country. However, Akhtar did talk to national media for his self projection.
The seminar lasted almost eight hours with the speakers including Pakistan Volleyball Federation (PVF) president Mohammad Yaqoob, Higher Education Commission chairman Mukhtar Ahmad, Pakistan Baseball Federation chairman Shauakt Javed, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Olympic Association president Syed Aqil Shah, Olympian Akhtar Rasool, WAPDA chairman Lt Gen (r) Muzammil Hussain, journalist Fahad Hussain, Pakistan Table Tennis Federation president SM Sibtain, WAPDA secretary sports board Aamer Ahmad and Services Brigadier Ghulam Jilani.
HEC chairman Mukhtar announced that his department would establish a sports university in the country this year and hire foreign expertise from Germany, Hungary and other countries to start the university. Mukhtar said the HEC was paying attention to the promotion of sports but still a lot of work had to be done, adding he stood by the POA in promotion of sports culture. Former-Olympian Akhtar said that the country had got talent and could again earn lost glory in the field of sports. He said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif must have been invited to the seminar as it was the need of the hour to promote sports. PVF president Yaqoob called for development of sports at the grassroots level while laying emphasis on the need for working on professional lines. “The government and the POA should be on one page for the promotion of sports in the country,” he maintained. Former national badminton champion and Pakistan Badminton Federation secretary general Wajid Ali urged the electronic media particularly the state-run PTV Sports to air all sports activities.
Laying emphasis on the role of corporate sector in the promotion of sports, Pakistan Baseball Federation chairman Shaukat Javed cited as example the successful conduct of the Rio Olympics in Brazil where, he said, sponsors were encouraged by displaying their banners and logo. “And electronic media has got an important role in this regard,” he further said. WAPDA sports board secretary Aamir presented comprehensive briefings on success and problems of their departments. On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Olympic Association president Aaqil said that the PSB should be revamped while stating that ‘Pakistan Sports Authority’ should be established with representation from national and provincial sports federations. “The PSB instead of facilitating the sports associations to organise the events has started holding sports events itself,” Aqil complained and presented many solutions like building of sports complexes along the CPEC. Earlier, POA president Lt Gen (r) Syed Arif Hasan and POA secretary general Khalid Mahmood in their welcome address said that the aim of the seminar was to shed light on sports-related problems which in turn would help us do something concrete for the betterment of sports.