Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Sports Board is making all its efforts, day in day out, for the promotion of sports in the country and providing the best opportunities to the players by imparting them training in order to maintain their fitness level.

In addition to this, Pakistan’s participation in the international events abroad is being made keeping in view its full potential. By the grace of Allah , the Pakistani players not only took part in the Asian Games, the Common Wealth Games and the South Asian Games, they won medals there. This was said by the Director General Pakistan Sports Board, Dr Akhtar Nawaz Ganjira, during an interview with Daily Times. He said that hockey was among the top priority of the PSB and it aimed at dragging the national game out of its present crisis. He said that people remained far away from sports activities and the main reason for that was the lack of sports facilities. China is the best role model for Pakistan so far as sports were concerned. “If we want to promote sports then we would have to patronise the teams at the level of colleges and universities.

The talent would come up from the grassroots level and the players who would take part in the national and the international competitions would have the capacity to represent the country”, he added.

The DG Pakistan Sports Board said that the country had not acted upon the sports policy that was devised in 2000. He added that it was a matter of sorrow that the education institutions which were under the jurisdiction of the Federal Directorate of Education had not organised any sports meet since 2013.

Islamabad had a meagre number of sports events, which was insufficient for the federal capital. He said that sports not only played an important role in maintaining one’s energy level but also enhanced the degree of self confidence in the individual.

Ganjira said that almost a decade had passed that inter schools games were held. It was necessary to form a policy about the sports tournaments at school levels.

He said although the PSB was doing its best to promote sports but a lot was needed to fulfil the requirements of the modern times. It was the need of the hour, to put the institutions and organisations in order. Moreover the facilities provided to Pakistan Sports Board were not enough, he lamented.

He exlained that the internationally renowned Pakistani-born British boxer, Aamir Khan, showed a keen interest and made boxing academies in Lahore and Karachi. For this purpose the PSB not only got an approval of the government for him but also helped him in acquiring land. “Other people like Aamir Khan should also come forward and become a helping hand in promoting sports in the country”.

He remarked that the PSB utilised the public funds but the people from the private sector had been taken for the monitoring purpose. He said that they could not give much time to the PSB so government servants might be appointed for the purpose. He told this scribe that the building of Pakistan Sports Board was started almost 40 years ago and was completed in 1984. He said that since then a lot of changes had occurred and keeping in view the latest requirements, more alterations were required.

“The government had allocated the budget of Rs 915 million for the Sports Board which included the pay and allowances of the staff, the fuel for the vehicles and other expenditures. The funds were insufficient and should be increased for the promotion of sports, he suggested.

He said that the PSB invites athletes from all over the country to get training in any sports by saying that the doors of the board were open to all players where they would get training at the international level.

He said that for the first time the PSB was making a separate wing for women players to remove their complaints and to provide them a level playing field in sports. Ganjira told this scribe that the place in the Sports Board had become short so 10 acres of land had been prepared where grounds and courts were being made. He said that the Board was organising national sports competition after every four years due to which players in every game came forward in the pool of the national level players.