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One
step forward, two steps back! Pakistan
Cricket: Paucity of Integrity? The seasoned player's withdrawal will be hard to swallow with his vast experience of 98 caps and 42 goals deemed as essential to German coach Joachim Loew's plans for the spectacle. By Umaid Wasim For a football fan, trying to imagine a 'Michael Ballack-less' Germany is really difficult. The fact that the name of the midfield maestro is synonymous with the German national football team would make it even more difficult for his teammates to accept that he is not leading them at the Cup showpiece in South Africa. The basic reason behind the slow growth of sports in Pakistan is its non-scientific approach. By Alam Zeb Safi Like other major crises, the slow growth of sports in Pakistan is also detrimental to the economic health of the country. In modern times, normally, the economic prosperity of a nation is directly linked with its sports health. As one of the top sports-loving countries, Australia's motives for the next 100 years are not to wage war with anyone but to fight on the sporting field. And one can see the Aussies' growing economy. By Aamir Bilal The United Nations defines persons with disabilities (PWD) as persons who have long term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments, which, in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. Disability sport is a term that refers to sport designed for, or specifically practiced, by people with disabilities.
One step forward, two steps back! Controversies continue to hit Pakistan cricket and a weak management, more than anything else, is responsible for it. By Khalid Hussain Three days after Pakistan's humiliating 234-run
defeat against Sri Lanka in their One-day International series finale at
the Gaddafi Stadium in January 2009, the country's cricket bosses sat
down in Lahore to discuss damage control. Pakistan were crushed by the
Sri Lankans in back-to-back ODIs in Karachi and Lahore and the stunning
results had ignited fierce public reaction against the national team as
well as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The Board desperately needed
to do something about it. According to insiders, Ijaz Butt -- the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman told his close advisors and the national team management that according to his information the biggest reason behind Pakistan's poor showing was the fact that around six to seven team members were unhappy with Shoaib Malik, the then Pakistan captain. He floated the idea of replacing the allrounder with Younis Khan and instantly found the support of almost everyone present in the meeting except for Aamir Sohail, the former Pakistan captain who was then serving as the PCB's Director Game Development. Aamir spoke against the move, saying that if the PCB
would change the captain just because some of the players were opposing
him, it would send wrong signals to the team. He was of the view that
instead of just taking the easy way out by replacing Malik, the PCB
should investigate into the real causes behind the losses and if it was
true that some of the players didn't perform well just because they were
unhappy with the captain then they should be made to pay the price for
it. But his views were met with deaf ears as the PCB opted to bring in Younis Khan as the new captain. When Younis led Pakistan to a memorable triumph in the 2009 World Twenty20 championship in England last summer, the PCB management thought it had managed to overcome all the problems facing Pakistan cricket. But just a few months later, the Board faced yet another crisis when once again around six to seven players revolted against Younis after Pakistan's semifinal defeat in the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa last October. Younis went to Butt and told him that he needed the Board's support but failed to get it. The senior batsman was forced to step down as captain and pulled out of the twin tours of New Zealand and Australia. The Board seemed relieved with his decision and this time opted for Mohammad Yousuf as captain for the assignments Down Under. History repeated itself during the twin tours as Yousuf kept complaining about the lack of support from some his teammates as Pakistan barely managed to draw the Test series against New Zealand and were later humiliated by Australia, who beat them in all the three Tests, five One-day Internationals and a Twenty20 game. Yousuf announced his retirement after the tour and in
the meantime Pakistan sewed their hopes in the captaincy for Shahid
Afridi but just for limited-overs cricket. There is a big possibility
that the PCB will pick 25-year-old opener Salman Butt as Pakistan's new
Test captain for the marathon tour of England this summer when the
national team will play back-to-back series against Australia and hosts
England from July to September. Sixteen months after the sacking of Malik, Pakistan cricket hasn't made much progress. By winning the World Twenty20, Pakistan did take a big stride forward only to suffer embarrassment in Australia a few months later. Blaming the so-called player power for Pakistan's sorry plight is very easy. But there is more too our cricketing crisis than just uncontrollable players, who if the allegations against them are true, are busy conspiring against each other and are even involved in match-fixing. It all boils down to the fact that our cricket is run by a weak management. By allowing the players to dictate terms, the PCB has played the lead role in producing and nurturing the negative elements within the national team. Similarly, by not taking appropriate action against faltering players during an away tour, team officials like Intikhab Alam, Yawar Saeed and Abdul Raqeeb are equally responsible for the sort of catastrophic results achieved by our team in Australia. The thing is that Pakistan cricket cannot be cleansed
of controversies unless the country's cricket chiefs adopt a
non-nonsense apporach to deal with crucial issues. What we need is to
erase the flaws in our system and that can only be done if we have
professional and competent officials at the helm of affairs. There are enormous problems facing Pakistan cricket and they won't go away if we don't change our game plan. They won't disappear but will only aggravate if appropriate measures are not taken. Issues like allegations of match-fixing and infighting among the players are the biggest challenges for the PCB. If the Board believes that by announcing that such issues are a ëclosed chapter', everything will be hunky dory then it's sadly mistaken. Shahid Afridi, Pakistan's Twenty20 captain, certainly has a point when he says that the authorities should take swift and decisive action to resolve these issues. Afridi is of the view that he and fellow players cannot focus on the up coming assignments during what is a very hectic year for Pakistan. He is also worried that these controversies could affect Pakistan's preparations for the 2011 World Cup to be hosted by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka during February-March. It's not just that. The lack of any decisive action will leave too many unresolved issues in Pakistan cricket and will affect it pretty badly much beyond next year's World Cup. A perfect storm is brewing for Pakistan cricket and it's high time we did something about it.
Pakistan Cricket: Paucity of Integrity? By Dr Nauman Niaz Just when Michael Hussey was flailing his triumphal
arms with gladiatorial mien; after orchestrating one of the most
incredibly daredevil heists in broad daylight, millions of Pakistan
hearts sank into despair, stomachs flipped and millions of tongues had
identical queries quivering upon them-How? Why? Why to us only? Why do
only we manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory? Why do only we
stutter and stagger into oblivion where even a Lilliputian would have
jaywalked to glory? Why do only we end up at the short end of the brutal
stick of scandal, infamy and mortification? Why is defeat such a norm and success such a mirage? Why has the lady luck reserved its smile for everyone playing against us? Why has the going got so tough as to kill any chances of the tough getting going? What happened to our fabled raw talent? What became of our famed bounce back ability? What paralyzed our legendary rearguard actions? Where did our chutzpah go? The flair? The spunk? Where did our self esteem and national pride go? What has befallen our Cricket? What haunts? What ails it? Why it has hit such a low, why is it in such dire straits? What and who triggered this calamitous fall from grace? Like with all befuddling riddles, the answer to these intricate questions is simple: The white Elephant has wrecked the china shop! And the rubble lies scattered all across the cricketing world; the wrecked landscape being strewn with all despoiled marvels which once adorned the resplendent space of Pakistan cricket. It's not an admonishment; it's what we have reaped destroying the constructive canvas of the game slinking into self-interest, vengeance and settling of scores. Pakistan Cricket has hit rockiest of rock bottoms; just when one begins to find cold comfort in the notion of the things incapable of getting any worse; the humbugs and charlatans running the dumb show manage to peg us further down by a few notches. Once placed in hands as venal and infirm as of Ijaz Butt, the chariot of cricket was bound to get wrecked! When humbugs of all humbugs, knaves of all knaves and charlatans of all charlatans would be the kings, the kingdom shall surely hit lowliest of all lows! A thing of folly is a shame forever! Jokers only know how to make a pantomime of even the most solemn and serious business. Mountebanks only know how to cry out their wares even at the cost of washing dirty linen in public. To elevate and undeserving man to a coveted designation is to vitiate both! A man lacking in qualification and devoid of merit is desperately short of moral courage and authority! To him, the longevity of his tenure is the supreme objective not the prestige and glory of the institution he heads. When push comes to shove, which happens every day under such a sorry tenure, his first and only impulse is to save his cracking skin while peeling off the robe of honour of his institution! Each day in his reign is a scandal; each act a infamy and the best intentions pave the smoothest path to hell! The recent release of the dubious inquiry committee meeting visuals betokens the paucity of high-self esteem and integrity in game's administration. Instead of devising strategies to develop cricket in the country, it appears, as if the PCB has now taken a route to destroy the moral worth of all the stakeholders involved, not a case of circumstance being the handmaiden of need but probably to absolve themselves of the muck that they have created so painstakingly to see players and the team alike slinking into absolute destruction. The visuals, clear and loud, yet equally puerile and disgusting, delineated the lowness of human minds. Not well-coordinated, ill-planned, superficial, farcical who so ever released the video recordings was not serving himself or the PCB but hurting Pakistan as a nation and besmirching its integrity in the world forum. I'll go convinced in the grave that we are nothing but selfish, imprudent self-inflictors. It on the face looks an attempt to mask the sequence of failures to avoid personal embarrassments. And at what cost; Pakistan's name and sovereignty? Such an act depicts the socio-psychological and demonstrative bankruptcy. Developed boards are reserved for the masterly. They are satisfied with the product of their labours but PCB, as it looks, is an exception. In crises, and it is definitely there, the picture detains us, the deism and typical Pakistani pride was trampled disdainfully, a nonsensical act of self-preservation. Shameless we have become and such has been the disdain that to hide meekness and intellectual bankruptcy we are not hesitating from destroying not only cricket's culture but Pakistan's fidelity. It is merely a jumble of self-interest of the administrators, their glaring incompetence, illegitimate methods, conniving formulas and timing, incessantly repeated, unscientifically investigated and ruthlessly executed. As it could be said, PCB has been careless where careful prototypes were required. Where are the work-ethics? Where are the morals, mental attitude and patriotism, all these could be nothing more than the comforts of a brilliant country, of which we dream about incessantly! Pakistan cricket stands jeopardized; and it is becoming extinct, only couple of spectacular performances gearing us up and frazzling into the illusive world where grandiose thoughts keep us imprudently optimistic. Pakistan cricket now needs to redeem itself and the redemption doesn't come cheap, as the public and improvident administrators imagine it coming. The PCB has to show muscle of institutionalization and social solidity and progressive traditionalism. The magnitude of relevance in cricket and the scope to which this has to traverse the precincts of redundancy has to become a register of how modern cricket articulates collective synchronization blending it with biomechanics, kinesiology, nutritional development, sports physiology, sports psychology, corporate institutionalization, sports management expert development, identification of routes of player evolution, a strong club, school, college, university and first class cricket; PCB at the moment is an acrimoniously rambling place giving the impression improbable that extensive failures at all tiers are found among such a wide continuum of an organization. The spirit in which Pakistan cricket is played weakens the case for regarding it as a representation of cultural, political, social and economic devaluation. Pakistan Cricket Board because it exposes the level of economic, administrative and institutional disproportion illustrates that it as an organization is unquestionably a failed state of the game. Pakistan's inability to devise development plans is an indicator of cricket's top tier's pretentiousness and also stimulates us to stand up to them and ask questions? The most marketable and renowned product of the nation has seen a steep decline in its prestige, global competitiveness and commercial viability. If Pakistan cricket is to be revived and the lost glory is to be regained; PCB needs to undergo a massive overhaul at all levels to give their game a new look and a better future. The vision for the reformation of Pakistan Cricket delineates an elaborate roadmap, involving a three pronged policy thrust aimed at undoing the wrongs and augmenting the goods in a phased and time bound manner through meticulous implementation of short term-medium term-long term policy trident. Short term measures could be so designed and tailored to cater to the imminent and immediate imperatives facing our cricket. Taking up the slack at various levels, adroit management of the inherited resources, all encompassing mobilization of existing assets, imparting transparency to the functioning, instilling to meritocracy at all decision making levels. Reviving all the dormant programs and initiatives beneficial for cricket including elevating domestic top performing players to national honours, encouraging true talent with remunerations, negotiating merchandize contracts for domestic circuit, zero tolerance of indiscipline, treachery and subterfuge, proactive and assertive diplomacy among the comity of nations to put an end to step motherly treatment to which our players have been subjected to of late. Establishing and setting up of a Pakistan Super League, a home grown, indigenous variant of the IPL/ICL template. Through this cricketing extravaganza the first and most crucial step could be taken towards regaining the lost ground, integrating latest concepts into sports management as well as ringing cricket back to Pakistani soil. The bonanza shall be a huge cash earner and would provide mouth watering opportunities to local and international business houses to invest heavily in Pakistan cricket, believe in it as a product and strengthen its arms and line up their pockets to change the face of our cricket as well as revitalize the dormant socio-economic-cultural milieu! Image re-engineering of Pakistan as a vibrant, thriving and forward looking country, with revival of assorted industries as showbiz, media, advertisement, hoteling, tourism could be an added bonus and a rich reward from such annual exercises. PCB could establish a chain of breeding grounds across Pakistan at carefully elected places, equipped with modern equipment and human resource to help revitalize the moribund nurseries of raw talent such as schools, colleges and universities and authenticated clubs. Proper budgets could be announced as well as foreign technical help could be sought in devising ways and means of equipping all leading nurseries of Cricket with all means necessary to help forge a cricketing culture all over again. Gradual and phased introduction and inventive implementation of non linear management models, incorporation and integration of cutting edge concepts such as process management, total quality control, six sigmas etc into policy making could help turn PCB into a lean, mean fighting machine touching optimum levels of productivity! Ballack's Cup heartbreak could hurt Germany The seasoned player's withdrawal will be hard to swallow with his vast experience of 98 caps and 42 goals deemed as essential to German coach Joachim Loew's plans for the spectacle. By Umaid Wasim For a football fan, trying to imagine a 'Michael Ballack-less' Germany is really difficult. The fact that the name of the midfield maestro is synonymous with the German national football team would make it even more difficult for his teammates to accept that he is not leading them at the Cup showpiece in South Africa. Ballack limped off the Wembley pitch last Saturday after a tackle by Portsmouth's Kevin-Prince Boateng as Chelsea won the FA Cup. Initial reports showed that he might have a slight injury but prognosis showed that the German captain would have to miss the World Cup with an ankle injury. Ballack's withdrawal from the quadrennial showpiece
continues a series of ill luck for the midfielder at big tournaments. The year 2002 could have been an incredible year for Ballack but fate intervened and the German, who was close to four trophies ended up with none. Ballack, playing for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga at that time helped the Bay Arena side to the final of the Champions League, the German Cup and put them in touching distance of the Bundesliga title. Alas, luck intervened and Bayer lost the league on the final day of the season to Bayern Munich, then lost the German Cup before losing the Champions League final to Real Madrid at Hampden Park with Zinedine Zidane scoring a screamer of a winner. Nevertheless, Ballack continued in the same vain of form in the World Cup that same year in Korea-Japan. His goals separated Germany from the USA and South Korea during the knockout rounds and sent his side to the final. But what the experts lauded even more was his last-gasp effort to stop an opponent from scoring in the semi-final -- in so doing he risked a yellow card but still didn't shy away from the tackle. In the end, he was booked indeed and had to sit out the final only to see the Germans lose out to the Brazilians and the magical Ronaldo. Such heartbreak in quick succession could break the morale of any player but being one of the strongest of them all; Ballack rose above the sorrows and went to Bayern Munich where he enjoyed a highly successful stay before signing for Chelsea in 2006. In the World Cup in Germany the same year, Ballack was named the side's captain. He proved to be a perfect choice on home soil, leading Germany to a third-place finish although it was yet another heartache for the midfield maestro. He had been close to winning the World Cup twice and missed on both occasions. However, he had a chance to fulfill his ambition of winning the Champions League in 2008. Chelsea dominated the final in Moscow against Manchester United after a shaky first-half for 75 long minutes and hit the woodwork twice. But once more the game went to penalties. Ballack scored his team's first but then he was forced to watch from the halfway line as the trophy went to the opposition. On the international scene, Ballack's Germany almost went all the way in Euro 2008, reaching the final against a strong Spanish side and losing by the narrowest of margins. It has been a career in which he could have achieved so much and yet as Ballack was looking for his international swansong at this summer's World Cup, he has been ruled out of the showpiece in the cruelest of ways. Thirty-three already, chances of him being in Brazil in 2014 look minimal. How fitting it would have been for a player of his quality to end his international career at football's highest stage of them all; covered in the golden glory of the World Cup. Ballack's withdrawal will be hard to swallow with his vast experience of 98 caps and 42 goals deemed as essential to German coach Joachim Loew's plans for the spectacle. Loew has yet to decide whether to call up another player but he will need to reshuffle to cover the absence of his most influential midfielder. A possible solution could be Bastian Schweinsteiger. The 25-year-old, who has won 73 caps and scored 19 goals since his first appearance in 2004, was long considered a major talent but he was also seen to be lacking that consistency and determination found among players wanting to lead. An inspiring season for Bayern Munich this season, however, has seen him being touted as the ideal replacement for Ballack. Not only has he matured as a strategist, exuding calmness and confidence in his every move but his passing game and vision have improved too. Germany also have concerns up front with first-choice strikers Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose both failing to impress in the Bundesliga. Podolski, 24, voted the best young player at the last World Cup, failed to make the grade at Bayern Munich whom he joined after Germany 2006 while a move back to his former club Cologne has yielded just two goals all season. Likewise, Klose, 31, has failed to impress this season with just three goals for Bayern. His reputation in the Germany shirt though is unquestionable. 48 goals in 93 internationals place him third in Germany's all-time scoring chart, behind only living legend Gerd Muller (68 goals) and former GDR goal-getter Joachim Streich (55). Ballack's absence would mean that Germany would have to rely on their other midfielders to be on their toes in order to both create chances and defend when under attack from the opposition. His leadership qualities at the heart of the German midfield though would be the hardest to replace.
How to arrest our decline in sports The basic reason behind the slow growth of sports in Pakistan is its non-scientific approach. By Alam Zeb Safi Like other major crises, the slow growth of sports in Pakistan is also detrimental to the economic health of the country. In modern times, normally, the economic prosperity of a nation is directly linked with its sports health. As one of the top sports-loving countries, Australia's motives for the next 100 years are not to wage war with anyone but to fight on the sporting field. And one can see the Aussies' growing economy. In Pakistan, the story is quite different. Here
sports is considered the least important faculty because of the dearth
of visionary rulers and that is the sole reason why we are unable to
catch the advances of other countries who are achieving brilliance on
the field. The basic reason behind the slow growth of sports in Pakistan is its non-scientific approach. The poor sporting relationship amongst the leading sports-running bodies, lack of research, non-professionalism and insufficient investments are some of the stumbling blocks in the way of smooth improvement in the area. The major actors including the Federal Sports Ministry, Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) are normally seen at loggerheads with each other. If on the one hand, the Sports Ministry tries to keep its subordinate body; the PSB, under undue check, on the other hand, the PSB never misses a chance to put in trouble the POA and the national sports federations working under its domain. At the end of last year, the Pakistan table tennis team could have missed twin continental events in India due to frigid links between the PSB and the Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) had the then Federal Sports Minister Pir Aftab Shah Jilani not intervened in the matter by issuing an NOC to the federation after reading a news item published in 'The News'. Last year, the PSB delayed the release of one million rupees to the National Rifle Association of Pakistan (NRAP) in a bid to sabotage the trip and the same amount was released only at the eleventh hour when national shooters were set to leave for Bangladesh to feature in the South Asian Shooting Championship. A top official of one of the federations had to face humiliation when he had come down to Karachi on his way to Bangladesh for the South Asian Games in January this year in spite of the fact that his name as contingent secretary for the mega event was removed from the list. He had to fly to Dhaka the next day, but was informed by this writer that his name as contingent secretary was dropped from the list. The decision was taken earlier, but he was not informed by the PSB about it. Majority of the federations also do not like the attitude of the Board and allege that the PSB do not reply to the letters sent to it. Their top officials are of the view that the PSB does not treat them fairly and never bothers to even consult any strategy with them pertaining to the development of the respective disciplines. Similarly, the Sports Ministry also tries to use its authority by keeping PSB under undue pressure. The PSB is a technocrat body and serves as executioner. But nowadays, the PSB Director General has no say in the sports matters. In the days of the then DG PSB Brigadier Arif Siddiqui, sports standards seemed to have lifted a great deal. Arif not only had the knack of taking positive decisions but also knew how to keep good relationship with the POA and the national sports federations. But currently, Amir Hamza Gilani seems to have been cornered. In the near past, injudiciously, the presidents of the national sports federations were called to attend a meeting under the Prime Minister to discuss how this sporting decline could be arrested. Majority of the chiefs of the national sports federations are symbolic, and mostly secretaries are handling the affairs of their respective disciplines and unfortunately they were not invited to that vital conference. If the government wants to promote sports in the country then it should go for bringing drastic changes in its system. Firstly, the current sports setup of the government should come under the Education Ministry so that sports could be revived once again in the educational institutions as it was successfully practised in the past which yielded encouraging results and national athletes used to grab medals at Asian and Olympic level. Secondly, the PSB should be headed by a professional who must also be a strong administrator and not a 'yes man'. And its chief should not be the nominee of the government but the post should be properly advertised so that a right person could be picked for the most challenging job, who could also take all the national sports federations along. Thirdly, the PSB should be comprised of technocrats and it should hire the services of foreign advisers so that better future planning could be ensured. Fourthly, a hefty amount should be invested in sports to make it an industry and only Rs660million would not be sufficient to compete with other countries. The PSB should stop recruiting coaches on permanent basis, but their services should be taken on contract so that they could be kept productive throughout. The qualified officials should be provided with the chance of extensive research on sports so that better lot could be produced who could know how to produce desired results. Finally, there should be a strong system of accountability and those breaching the discipline should be given an exemplary punishment. The authorities should focus on improving the standard of those individual sports in which the country could get medals at Asian and Olympic level. Moreover, mere conferences and formation of Task Force would not work unless concrete steps are taken to arrest the decline of sports in the country.
By Aamir Bilal The United Nations defines persons with disabilities
(PWD) as persons who have long term physical, mental, intellectual or
sensory impairments, which, in interaction with various barriers may
hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal
basis with others. Disability sport is a term that refers to sport
designed for, or specifically practiced, by people with disabilities. One gets perplexed and wonders that in which category Pakistan Cricket team players should be reserved for in the light of the UN definition for disabled and ex-Pakistan cricket coach Intikhab Alam, who in front of the inquiry commission said that at least four of our top notch Cricketers are "mentally disabled" and retarded. People with disabilities in developing countries face major barriers that limit their access to the participation in sport and physical activity. These barriers are compounded in a country like Pakistan where disabled and special persons are called with different names like Langray (disability in leg), Doray (impaired hearing), Annay (blind), Goongay (hampered speech) and Kanay (partial blindness) due to lack of education and poor social norms. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that six hundred and fifty million people live with disabilities of various types and the numbers are constantly increasing due to different accidents and diseases. Out of this total 80 per cent live in low income countries with no access to rehabilitation facilities. This rising incidence of disability has the potential to place further burdens on governments and heath care systems. Sports can be a low cost and effective means to foster positive health and well-being, social inclusion and community building for people with disability. The Earthquake Reconstruction & Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has done some splendid work in order to rehabilitate the people of AJ&K, Khyber Pakhtoonkhawa and Northern areas of the country which were badly hit during the devastating earthquake of 2005. The infrastructural development carried out in the difficult terrain by NDMA with the help of international donor agencies is unparallel and is being considered as a case study in other disaster hit areas like Haiti. The downside of such natural disasters and manmade holocausts including low and high intensity conflicts and war on terror is the deep physical and psychological traumas that sometime take life time to heal. Such disasters usually leave behind a large number of physically disabled persons including amputee, spinal cord injuries, paraplegics and psychologically traumatized persons. The rehabilitation process in such like situation is usually painstaking that requires collective effort and use of multi-sectoral efforts, including the effective use of improvised sports for disabled. The three largest international disability sport competitions are the Special Olympics, Paralympic Games and Deaflympics. The Paralympic Games cater for elite athletes with physical disabilities while Special Olympics offer sporting opportunities to all persons with intellectual disabilities from elite to those with severe and profound challenges. Since 2001 athletes with an intellectual disability have been unable to participate in the Paralympic games. For any athlete who wishes to participate in international disability sport competitions must first meet the minimum eligibility criteria and be a member of an affiliated national association. In Paralympic Games, the eligibility criteria differ across sports and disability groups. The Paralympic games also have qualification criteria that athletes need to meet in order to compete in Paralympic Games. General public and even disabled are not aware of organised sport activities for disabled and special people in the country. In all areas of disability, women have equal right to participate and this includes as athletes, officials, managers, coaches and leaders. More than two third of the worldís women live in developing countries but the overall participation rate in sport is minimal. Women with disability in our country face double discrimination in disability sport, being disabled and being a woman. The biggest issue faced in developing disabled sport in the developing countries like Pakistan is non availability and lack of access to adaptive sports equipment, technology and safe playing areas. What to talk of technology of "Cheetah Blades" used by South African Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius, we even donít have access to sports wheelchairs, prosthetic limbs and clutches. This onus lies on national governments and Paralympic Associations to acquire these equipments and technology. At the grassroots, expensive equipment and technology is not required in order to initially encourage people with disability to participate. If the associations have right priorities, than its not difficult to design and adapt sport for disabled that require minimal equipment. The people managing disabled sport must understand that lack of skill does not necessarily indicate the lack of potential ability. They need to treat people with disabilities who want to participate in sport as simple athletes. Aamir Bilal is a qualified coach sdfsports@gmail.com
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