Scandals and success
Italy, Zambia, Pakistan 2009, India… if you want your country to succeed, have something terrible happen to them
By Hassan Cheema
India’s victory last month in the Champions Trophy was seen through many prisms: from inspirational to suspicious, every emotion was shown. India came to the tournament with a young squad led by a captain who was under pressure; and not for anything he had done on the pitch. Regardless, the squad’s triumph wasn’t as unexpected as it has since been portrayed. Most of the players (Dhawan and Karthik aside) have been regulars in the Indian team over the past year as they’ve extended their lead atop the ICC ODI Rankings, after all. But in light of the spot-fixing scandal that struck the IPL, the success has come as a well-timed tonic for the nation.

The rights and wrongs of national selection
By Mushfiq Ahmad
Pakistan’s selectors did a few right things while announcing the ODI and T20 squads for the tour of West Indies. But they also made some follies, in selecting those who have been tried and tested and have proved to be good-for-nothing.
They were right to expel Shoaib Malik, Imran Farhat and Kamran Akmal. These three have failed to do anything worthwhile for quite a long time.
It was reported in this newspaper recently that Shoaib Malik has not scored a half century in One-day Internationals for almost four years. His utility as a bowler ended ages ago. Rarely is he asked to bowl more than two or three overs now. In fact, he bowling three overs is also a rarity.
Imran Farhat has never been consistent. If he scores a half century in a match, people must not expect him to repeat that performance for at least the next five matches. He averages 30 runs in an era when most of the openers around the world average in upwards of 40. He entered the international arena when Aamir Sohail and Saeed Anwar, both left-handed openers like him, were about to retire. But he has never been as impressive as they were in their prime time. Pakistan’s T20 captain Mohammad Hafeez averages 27 runs, which is also pathetic for an opener, but he justifies his place in the team with his decent off-break bowling.

How T20 is hurting Australia
The pressure of needing to populate three international teams with players from only six first-class ones is beginning to tell on them
By Martin Crowe
In the saturated landscape of multiple cricket formats and intense scheduling Australia have fallen the most. As arguably the most successful cricket nation of all time, going back 136 years, the country has taken a hit that it will probably never recover from.
When two formats, Tests and ODIs, were the focus, from the Packer days on, Australia had the ideal nursery to ensure they were preparing for global domination, and to be ready for it when the opportunity arose. When the mighty West Indies ran out of gas in the mid ‘90s, after more than a decade and a half of complete rule, Australia pounced and took the crown. And they did not let it go for another decade and a half, until a greedy little sod turned up.
That little sod was Twenty20. When T20 became an addiction the world over, Australia had no choice but to run with the hounds. Consequently the need for three teams to represent themselves successfully in each of the international formats has left Australia short on supply and confidence.

No real surprises
By Chishty Mujahid
What was the entire hullabaloo about the Pakistan cricket team’s tour to the West Indies? It will be just another tour with hopefully a different, and more pleasant, ending.
That we performed pathetically in the Champions Trophy in England and Wales is an understatement. That there will be wholesale changes in the set up is a consummation devoutly to be wished. Has there ever been an instance when any significant change has taken place in the cricket set-up after a debacle. Everyone seems to have vested interests in not rocking the boat and upsetting the applecart. There is no one to cast the first stone. There isn’t anyone who is willing to bell the cat. Enough of these idioms. What I meant is that we should be satisfied with our current situation and not expect any wonders.
The teams to go to the West Indies have been announced. There are some obvious changes. No real surprises. Frankly speaking the squads by and large chose themselves with the selectors perhaps having to ponder on a few alternatives to fill the last few vacancies. 

National Games:
 A pathetic show

By Alam Zeb Safi
National Games, which remained in the headlines for several days due to their controversial nature, were finally held at the well-facilitated, but poorly-maintained Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad. Around 2000 athletes from the three armed forces, four provinces, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Islamabad and Railways took part in the spectacle.
WAPDA, Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Police did not field their athletes in the week-long extravaganza on which a hefty amount was spent by the government.
Because of concerted efforts from the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) there were apprehensions at one stage that the event would not be held. Besides, a group of athletes of the Punjab who had won medals in the 32nd National Games in Lahore last year had filed a petition in the Lahore High Court against the games being restaged. But the court only ordered the organisers not to use the term 32nd with the National Games.

Milkha Singh — The Flying Sikh
By Ijaz Chaudhry
The Bollywood movie ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag’ hitting the world screens in a few days depicts the life of the legendary Indian athlete Milkha Singh, who was fourth in the 400 metres at the 1960 Olympics. The Milkha saga is tailor made for the celluloid.
He was eleven when made to run for his life. Having seen his parents and other relatives slain in front of him in the aftermath of the partition in 1947 in the Pakistani city of Faisalabad, then called Lyallpur, Milkha escaped to India by hanging onto a Delhi-bound train. After roaming the streets of Delhi for a few years and doing menial jobs, Milkha joined the Indian Army, a decision that changes his life. Sports have always been an essential part of the army routine. The young Sikh soon discovered that short distance running, 400 and 200 metres, was his forte. Soon he was the best in his unit.
In a big services meet, Milkha saw some athletes who had India written on their vests. On his enquiry, he was told, “These army men have been representing India in international meets as they are the national champions in their respective events.” 

 

 

 

Scandals and success
Italy, Zambia, Pakistan 2009, India… if you want your country to succeed, have something terrible happen to them
By Hassan Cheema

India’s victory last month in the Champions Trophy was seen through many prisms: from inspirational to suspicious, every emotion was shown. India came to the tournament with a young squad led by a captain who was under pressure; and not for anything he had done on the pitch. Regardless, the squad’s triumph wasn’t as unexpected as it has since been portrayed. Most of the players (Dhawan and Karthik aside) have been regulars in the Indian team over the past year as they’ve extended their lead atop the ICC ODI Rankings, after all. But in light of the spot-fixing scandal that struck the IPL, the success has come as a well-timed tonic for the nation.

It all called to mind something that the Italian football has excelled at. Their last two successes in the World Cup (in 1982 and 2006) have both come in the wake of match-fixing scandals. The Totonero scandal of 1980 was the backdrop to their success in 1982. The scandal resulted in the demotion of seven teams — including the relegation of AC Milan and Lazio from the Serie A — as well as the banning of twenty players. Although it had been two years since the scandal going into the World Cup, and the Italian press corps was more focused on laying into the coach, EnzoBearzot, the return of Paolo Rossi — who had been banned for two years after his involvement in the Totonero — for the World Cup. In the end Bearzot and Rossi were the winners from that tournament; the coach giving Italy their first world title in 44 years, and Rossi finishing as the top scorer in the tournament after Bearzot had stuck by him in the three round robin games where he had finished goalless and been described as “a ghost wandering aimlessly over the field.” The success and style of Bearzot’s team paved the way for Serie A’s ascendancy to the top of the European scene, which was completed by ArrigoSacchi, whose AC Milan team are the only back-to-back European Champions in the last 35 years.

Two decades later, the scandal hit closer to the tournament. The calciopoliscandal came out as the Italian team was preparing for the World Cup. Involved among those were Juventus, who were stripped of their 2004/05 and 2005/06 Serie A winner trophies. In the wake of the scandal the then-team manager of Juventus,GianlucaPessotto, who had played for Italy in the 1998 World Cup, attempted suicide. By the 4th of July the prosecutor of the Italian football federation was calling for the demotion of Juventus. Five days later four Juventus players (Buffon, Cannavarro, Zambrotta and Camoranesi) started for Italy as they lifted the world crown. Italy had been fifth favourites (at odds of 19/2) going into the tournament. This was not expected.

In the former case, the win became a new lease of life for the game in the country. In 2006 it was a band aid over a cancer which has affected Italian football since; the league is now ranked behind Spain, England and Germany in the UEFA coefficients, and the effect of the scandal and subsequent relegations sent Italian giants, including Milan and Juventus, off-track for years. Neither of them has truly recovered from that. Neither club has reached the semi-final of the Champions League since Calciopoli; a tournament they met in the final off as recently as 2003. The scandal affected Italian football’s image worldwide, and it will take many more years to erase it from the memories. And the Italian game, both financially and as a spectacle, is poorer for it.

So India have both an example of aspiration, and caution, from the adventures of Italy. The IPL, and India, are too big and important for world cricket to not have the sort of influence that Italian football had in the late 80s. But now India’s challenge is to make sure that influence is positive; that the cases of Sreesanth and others are exceptions, that this cancer is not dealt with a band aid. Considering what we know of cricket administrators worldwide, I am not sure I should be waiting with bated breath.

hasncheema@yahoo.com

caption

Gianluigi Buffon

 

 

The rights and wrongs of national selection
By Mushfiq Ahmad

Pakistan’s selectors did a few right things while announcing the ODI and T20 squads for the tour of West Indies. But they also made some follies, in selecting those who have been tried and tested and have proved to be good-for-nothing.

They were right to expel Shoaib Malik, Imran Farhat and Kamran Akmal. These three have failed to do anything worthwhile for quite a long time.

It was reported in this newspaper recently that Shoaib Malik has not scored a half century in One-day Internationals for almost four years. His utility as a bowler ended ages ago. Rarely is he asked to bowl more than two or three overs now. In fact, he bowling three overs is also a rarity.

Imran Farhat has never been consistent. If he scores a half century in a match, people must not expect him to repeat that performance for at least the next five matches. He averages 30 runs in an era when most of the openers around the world average in upwards of 40. He entered the international arena when Aamir Sohail and Saeed Anwar, both left-handed openers like him, were about to retire. But he has never been as impressive as they were in their prime time. Pakistan’s T20 captain Mohammad Hafeez averages 27 runs, which is also pathetic for an opener, but he justifies his place in the team with his decent off-break bowling.

Kamran Akmal proved himself a worthy replacement of Moin Khan and Rashid Latif for a number of years, both as wicket-keeper and batsman. But since the 2010 tour of Australia, his performance has been below average and he got opportunities only because Adnan Akmal, Sarfaraz Ahmad and Mohammad Salman — the three stumpers tried in place of him — have been unimpressive with the bat.

But the other decisions of the selectors are questionable. It is amazing that they are showing patience with Umar Amin. He has played 14 innings for Pakistan — eight in Tests and six in ODIs — but not even a half century yet. Why does he remain in the team? We know of highly talented players who were ousted for not performing well in just two or three opportunities that they were given. Interestingly he is part of the Pakistan squad for both ODIs and T20Is.

Similarly odd is the selection of Sohail Tanvir in the T20 squad. He didn’t get a single wicket in his last three T20I he played late last year.

And then there is the persistence in ignoring Abdul Razzaq. He has been treated unjustly for more than two years. Here are the facts about him.  He was kept out of the T20 team throughout 2011 and much of 2012 despite the fact that he was the man of the match in the last match of 2010 when he scored 34 not out and got three early wickets.

Similarly, he was thrown out of the ODI team after the 2011 World Cup, although he played a crucial role in the win against Australia, with both bat and ball, and made a half century against New Zealand when all other batsmen had failed. And when he could not do well it was because he was sent to bat at number eight, which is unfair to someone who has an ODI average of 30.

After the Champions Trophy debacle, it was expected that the selectors would realize their folly and reinstate him in the team because this was in the larger interest of the team. But unfortunately they did not do that.

mushfiqahmad1000@gmail.com

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Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal

 

 

How T20 is hurting Australia
The pressure of needing to populate three international teams with players from only six first-class ones is beginning to tell on them
By Martin Crowe

In the saturated landscape of multiple cricket formats and intense scheduling Australia have fallen the most. As arguably the most successful cricket nation of all time, going back 136 years, the country has taken a hit that it will probably never recover from.

When two formats, Tests and ODIs, were the focus, from the Packer days on, Australia had the ideal nursery to ensure they were preparing for global domination, and to be ready for it when the opportunity arose. When the mighty West Indies ran out of gas in the mid ‘90s, after more than a decade and a half of complete rule, Australia pounced and took the crown. And they did not let it go for another decade and a half, until a greedy little sod turned up.

That little sod was Twenty20. When T20 became an addiction the world over, Australia had no choice but to run with the hounds. Consequently the need for three teams to represent themselves successfully in each of the international formats has left Australia short on supply and confidence.

Their previous strength, the Sheffield Shield, and its high-quality six-team first-class competition has in truth now become its weakness. Six teams from which to choose three different teams doesn’t wash anymore. New Zealand are in the same predicament.

England, on the other hand, have 18 teams to choose three international teams from, and they do it fairly well. They are ranked respectably in all three formats: second in Tests, second in ODIs, and fifth in T20. Australia are fourth in Tests, third in ODIs, and seventh in T20. It might not seem much grounds for comparison but when you look at the last two Ashes, each team’s last tour of India, and the recent Champions Trophy result and Australia’s off- field disintegration during it, England are way out in front and looking strong for the future.

India and South Africa also have large pools of domestic sides and competitions to choose their three teams from. They are strutting along nicely, with India third in Tests, first in ODIs, and third in T20. South Africa are first in Tests, fourth in ODIs, and sixth in T20. India have recovered somewhat from a difficult year in Tests, entering a transition with a new batting line-up.

If you can select teams with minimal overlap between them, with individuals specialising in each format, you will maximise the opportunity of winning. But if you have to play individuals across all three teams, then body and mind will be compromised.

Michael Clarke has settled on playing the two longer formats due to his injury woes, and he is better suited to doing so anyway, while Shane Watson, also vulnerable to injury, needs to settle on a game plan for Tests. He must make up his mind about where he might properly perform in two forms, as it would appear unlikely he can cut it in three — as has been the case lately. As for David Warner, the highly resourceful yet hugely ill-disciplined rogue, the more T20 he plays, the less effective he will be in Tests. Already he has lost his place to his erratic form in the long game. By and large Tests and T20 don’t go together.

That players get injured due to the brutal demands of the international calendar, and can’t play regularly only exposes those who aren’t properly prepared at domestic level, and so Australia have suffered significantly in confidence across the board. They simply don’t have the numbers to compete across all forms.

Not enough cream will rise to the top when you have only a limited number of cows producing quality milk. In the good old days of the roaring eighties, a settled squad of 16 or so could comfortably cover both Tests and the one-day game over the course of a year or two. However, times have changed drastically and for ever.

Of those playing Sheffield Shield cricket at present, Australia have selected 56 players out of the six state teams to play in an international fixture at some stage. The number itself isn’t unusually high, but for Australia it represents a large percentage of those playing domestic cricket. That is not sustainable when you’re looking to win across all forms.

As a fantasy, if Australasia were selecting from both New Zealand and Australia’s 12 domestic teams combined, then you might have an even playing field against England and Co.

In short, the vast majority of the cream of Australia’s players are trying to play all forms at once. The same model for the national team is being applied to the six state sides: we must pick our best players at all times in all formats. The burnout effect on that 80% is one thing, but the lack of fierce focus on a given job is becoming catastrophic for them. England and India are able to dig deep into their reserves and can comfortably find enough players who are specialising competently to do a job in any of the three formats.

The very finest players, of course, will transfer their skills to more than one format. For example, Clarke, Warner and Watson; Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen; Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers; Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels; Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum; Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, all feature among their country’s most important top batsmen in the two longer formats.

Where it gets tougher is when they have to play in all three. India manage it the best, with about half the team featuring in all forms currently, but Australia, West Indies, New Zealand and Sri Lanka do it out of compulsion: they have no choice but to play their best men in all three. Does it bring the best out in them in all three? No, and it starts to affect their cricket when they are most needed. In essence, T20 should not be a priority against the other two.

Most of the higher-ranked countries are consistently selecting players for two formats, with rare exceptions who play all three. MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin and AB de Villiers come to mind, but even they struggle to pull it off day after day, and they must be careful their Test form doesn’t drop. How long can Dhoni keep it up?

England played a completely new T20 team against New Zealand recently, and while losing a close match they protected certain individuals for the more important formats, as well as preparing the new blood to play better T20 in the future. Overall and long-term, England are investing well. India need to work on their Test team, but by and large they have the numbers and will always stay in the top bracket.

Australia have tried rotating their best players. Alas, that only upsets the fans and broadcasters big time. England don’t get that criticism, because they have a greater pool of competent cricketers. They have also clearly stated their intention, so there are very few last-minute changes to upset the marketing and promotion of the contest. Criticism is kept at bay.

It’s simple mathematics. The nations with larger player bases will ultimately win out, now that the format numbers have increased permanently. England, India and South Arica will from here on always have the edge over Australia, and certainly over the rest.

The only way Australia will bounce back is if T20 is dropped from the international schedule completely, and rightfully sent back to the domestic scene. Going back to just Tests and ODIs in the international schedule will also assist the weaker nations and will allow world cricket to find a proper balance of power, enabling the game to grow globally and sustain its integrity. —Cricinfo

caption

Michael Clarke

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David Warner
 

No real surprises
By Chishty Mujahid

What was the entire hullabaloo about the Pakistan cricket team’s tour to the West Indies? It will be just another tour with hopefully a different, and more pleasant, ending.

That we performed pathetically in the Champions Trophy in England and Wales is an understatement. That there will be wholesale changes in the set up is a consummation devoutly to be wished. Has there ever been an instance when any significant change has taken place in the cricket set-up after a debacle. Everyone seems to have vested interests in not rocking the boat and upsetting the applecart. There is no one to cast the first stone. There isn’t anyone who is willing to bell the cat. Enough of these idioms. What I meant is that we should be satisfied with our current situation and not expect any wonders.

The teams to go to the West Indies have been announced. There are some obvious changes. No real surprises. Frankly speaking the squads by and large chose themselves with the selectors perhaps having to ponder on a few alternatives to fill the last few vacancies.

You can please some of the people all the time and all the people some of the time; but you cannot please all the people all the time. This adage applies to the task of the selectors. The Chief of the Committee Iqbal Qasim is an upright and “no-nonsense” person and he and his mates have done a decent job.  Some names have been left out and some included. Good to see Shahid Afridi back. The reason he has been inducted in the side (I maybe quite wrong here) is that the pitches in the West Indies unlike the tracks of the past are now made to assist spinners and Pakistan needed a right-arm wrist spinner.

It is hoped that as added bonus he may come off with the bat. Let us for the moment forget what his performance has been over the last twenty or so short format games. But can we forget the fact that it was rumoured that he was left out of the Champions Trophy Team because of opposition from the captain and the coach? Can we also guarantee Shahid a place in the playing XI? That is up to the tour selection panel. Hopefully he will not have the same fate as many a senior Pakistan player of the past who ended up being mere tourists in the twilight of their careers.

One humble advice to Afridi for whatever it is worth. Please do not issue provocative statements at the drop of a hat. Concentrate on your cricket and your modeling. You are better seen than heard.

I am sorry to see Raza Hassan’s name missing. He could have been included for Abdur Rehman who should be preserved for Tests.

Also Usman Qadir, the talented young leggie, could have been thrown into the squads. And if you have to go in reverse gear and keep a revolving door policy some place should have been found for Fawad Alam, Khurrum Manzoor and maybe Faisal Iqbal.

But remember the squad officially can only have 15 and any extra players are at the expense of the tourists’ board.

May I suggest to the Media Division of the PCB that the team should be announced in the alphabetical order? This way it will not become so obvious that Haaris Sohail was the “debated” sixteenth player in the ODI line up. Also why reveal the team in probable batting order. I hope that my conjecture is completely incorrect.

There are four pace bowlers in the ODI squad and five in the T20. One southpaw quick bowler in place of a left-arm spinner. No quarrel with that.

The batting and fielding need significant improvement. PCB should immediately commission a batting consultant. Either Inzamamul Haq or Saeed Anwar, if available and willing, will do just fine. Zaheer Abbas, and Aamir Sohail are too highly placed for this job.

Javed Miandad is the Director General of PCB; and Mohsin Khan is a former chief coach. It will be unfair to give them a limited assignment. But time is of the essence. Do not drag your feet.

What about changes in the support staff. The fielding coach has struggled. The fielding remains at best pedestrian. The pre-Champions Trophy short-term crash programme for pace bowlers is yet to throw up match winners.

This was an opportunity to change coaches and maybe experiment with a new captain and vice-captain as well. Wild thoughts but pause and think and you may understand what I am trying to say.

I am also not sure whether all is well with this selection; and with the relations between the selectors and the team management and the board management. Maybe the selectors are not unanimous; maybe they and the captain and the coach are not on the same page.

The Interim Chairman has made a very profound statement, on return from ICC parleys, that Pakistan cricket was at its lowest point because of the strings of defeats and controversies. Defeats yes; but for the last three years, since Misbah ul Haq took over the captaincy, there has not been any controversy as such.

The Interim Chairman has the reduction of Amir’s punishment for felony as the top priority item on his agenda. That is a worthy cause. But then PCB should also take up cudgels in support of Salman Butt, who seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, “apologised” to the entire nation for his misconduct (big deal), Muhammad Asif who is perhaps the best swing bowler to emerge in international cricket for many years, the long serving and harassed Danish Kaneria, the rightfully wronged Asad Rauf and the much maligned Nadeem Ghauri.

No one will disagree with the fact that Pakistan Cricket has never been at such a low point. I do not remember in any ICC tournament Pakistan returned winless. That is the bad news. The good news is that the team can only perform better and improve their rating as it cannot sink any deeper. I am confident that on the pitches next to the beaches of the Caribbean which may not be pacy and venomous, Pakistan will emerge winners in both formats.

It is indeed a pity that the PCB agreed to axe Test Matches from the programme. But then, as they say, beggars are not choosers.

Hopefully, all will perform in unison towards the goal of bringing laurels to the crescent and green. We pray for their success and wish them well.

Post script: News has come after this piece was completed that Iqbal Qasim has resigned as Chairman of the Selection Committee. The alacrity with which it was accepted is not easily digestible; almost as if the PCB were waiting for it.

It is said a new selection committee will be formed to choose the team for Zimbabwe. Why did we not wait and have the new committee select the team for the West Indies as well? All this does not sound kosher.

chishty.mujahid@yahoo.co.uk

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Mohammad Hafeez (left), Iqbal Qasim (centre) and Misbah-ul-Haq

 

National Games:
 A pathetic show

By Alam Zeb Safi

National Games, which remained in the headlines for several days due to their controversial nature, were finally held at the well-facilitated, but poorly-maintained Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad. Around 2000 athletes from the three armed forces, four provinces, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Islamabad and Railways took part in the spectacle.

WAPDA, Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Police did not field their athletes in the week-long extravaganza on which a hefty amount was spent by the government.

Because of concerted efforts from the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) there were apprehensions at one stage that the event would not be held. Besides, a group of athletes of the Punjab who had won medals in the 32nd National Games in Lahore last year had filed a petition in the Lahore High Court against the games being restaged. But the court only ordered the organisers not to use the term 32nd with the National Games.

Following the court order the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) advised the organisers to respect the court and they did not use the term 32nd.

The decision of the court made the status of the extravaganza doubtful. In December last year, the 32nd National Games had been conducted in Lahore under the auspices of Arif Hasan-led POA.

The legal battle between the POA and the PSB over the implementation of the National Sports Policy has crippled the country’s sports and damaged the future of the talented athletes in different disciplines.

Army, who before this event had collected the title for 24 times in a row, once again lifted the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy with 6464 points.

They were followed by Navy with 2675 points and Punjab with 2312 points at the second and third spots, respectively.

In the affairs, Army’s Olympian swimmer Kiran Khan broke the 50m freestyle nine-year-old record of Rubab Reza. She also became the first athlete of the world to collect 15 gold medals at an event. Kiran, who had featured in Beijing Olympics but was ignored for London Olympics, did a marvelous job and her stupendous performance came as a chilled pie in the eyes of her detractors.

In athletics, due to the absence of WAPDA, Army did a fine job but their athletes did not show any extraordinary performances because of the less competitive environment.

“WAPDA are not playing; that is why there is no competitive environment and we don’t try much as we know that we will achieve our target quite comfortably,” one of the leading athletes of Army told The News on Sunday.

While covering the event in the federal capital, I found that Pakistan’s sports authorities don’t take their jobs seriously. There was no proper planning.

On the arrival day the athletes of several units suffered a lot. They had to wait till 3:00am in the night for their hotels. There were no suitable transportation facilities and some of the athletes even slept in the PSB Complex mosque to take some rest before fielding in the evening session.

The schedule of the competitions was frequently changed. Due to the existence of parallel bodies some illegal teams had emerged. There was little discipline during the event. The brawl between the netball teams of Army and Balochistan marred the whole affair. A player Rashid from Balochistan was severely injured during the fight.

There are always chances of such events and the organisers should have made tight security arrangements. Some of the security personnel had been found sleeping in their chairs at nights while at the gates of the hostels.

The Pakistan Sports Complex has all the proper facilities for such a major event but the PSB has badly failed to maintain these facilities where one cannot hold any international event.

The condition of the washrooms was repugnant. There was no proper facility of drinking water. The indoor halls, on which heft amount has been spent, were in a dilapidated condition.

The tartan track was worn out. Not only the athletes but also the sports journalists suffered a lot because of the presence of only a nominal media centre. On the initial two days there was no computer but subsequently six computers were installed; two of them later stopped functioning. The reporters also had to struggle a lot for obtaining results. There was no shuttle service which could facilitate them in their work.

The PSB used Rs30milliion only on renovation of the complex, but the paint was found to be sub-standard.

For installing the sound system the PSB had made a deal with a company. But a source claimed that the Board would pay it less and receive a large bill from it. The company did not agree to this arrangement and then the Board managed to deal with another company for installing the sound system for the opening ceremony. The result was that the sound was usually not comprehensible.

It is the responsibility of the new government, particularly of the federal minister for the inter-provincial coordination (IPC), to bring improvement in the Board’s functioning and appoint competent and honest people in the Board who could work for the development of sports.

Our sports organisers need to learn how to hold an event. If they have resources then it is not difficult to hold such an extravaganza in a befitting manner.

73.alam@gmail.com

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ISLAMABAD: Athletes of Pakistan army celebrating with holding their trophies at the ending ceremony of National Games at Pakistan Sports Complex

 

Milkha Singh — The Flying Sikh
By Ijaz Chaudhry

The Bollywood movie ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag’ hitting the world screens in a few days depicts the life of the legendary Indian athlete Milkha Singh, who was fourth in the 400 metres at the 1960 Olympics. The Milkha saga is tailor made for the celluloid.

He was eleven when made to run for his life. Having seen his parents and other relatives slain in front of him in the aftermath of the partition in 1947 in the Pakistani city of Faisalabad, then called Lyallpur, Milkha escaped to India by hanging onto a Delhi-bound train. After roaming the streets of Delhi for a few years and doing menial jobs, Milkha joined the Indian Army, a decision that changes his life. Sports have always been an essential part of the army routine. The young Sikh soon discovered that short distance running, 400 and 200 metres, was his forte. Soon he was the best in his unit.

In a big services meet, Milkha saw some athletes who had India written on their vests. On his enquiry, he was told, “These army men have been representing India in international meets as they are the national champions in their respective events.”

That day Milkha set his sights on earning an India vest. He got fully focused. Every day, he ran for hours. If due to duty commitments he couldn’t find time during the day, he practised during night. Fellow soldiers would keep the dinner.

Within a couple of years, he had broken the national records for both 400 & 200 metres and Milkha was representing his country in the biggest event.

At the 1956 Olympics, Milkha got eliminated in the first round and felt out of place. He said afterwards, “The clear superiority of the others shocked me but at the same time it inspired me.”

He gathered courage to ask American Charles Jenkins, the winner of the 400 metres, for guidance. “He was nice enough to write a training schedule for me.”

From then onwards, Milkha concentrated on his next goal — to excel at the international stage. His preparation included unconventional methods. The determined boy ran on the hills and on the sands of the river. He trained so vigorously that sometimes the training schedule would end up with Milkha vomiting blood.

He fully arrived at the international athletics’ scene at the 1958 Asian games. Milkha first won the 400 m, creating a new Asian record. Pakistan’s Abdul Khaliq, also a Punjabi soldier, retained his 100 m title.

Now both were eyeing the 200m. An added incentive was the title of the best athlete of the Asiad 1958; one has to win at least two individual golds. Khaliq led the field all the way with Milkha just behind him. Just short of the finish line, Milkha made a sort of a dive and flung himself ahead of Khaliq to win the 200 m race and was declared the continent’s best athlete in the bargain.

The golden run continued. A few weeks later, Milkha triumphed again, at an even more competitive field — the Commonwealth Games. He beat a world class field to win the 400m — till date the only gold won by a male Indian athlete at the Commonwealth Games. 

Next he set sight at the 1960 Olympics — his ultimate aim. In the year in between, Milkha competed in numerous meets in Europe, winning almost all of them. He was also awarded America’s Helms trophy for being the best 400m runner of 1959.

Milkha was in the form of his life at the Rome Olympics in 1960. He easily went through the preliminaries to reach the semi-final. The field at the Rome Olympics is widely acknowledged as the finest gathering of the 400m runners. In the lead up to the event, Milkha had beaten all of them with the exception of American Otis Davis.

In his semi-final, Milkha was second only to Davis. Most of the pundits predicted silver for him in the final. But Milkha had gold in his mind and that was how he started.  He made a flying start and after 250 metres, he was ahead of the rest. At that moment he did something which he deeply regrets even today. Milkha thought he was going at too fast a pace and might fizzle out towards the end. He slowed down a bit and even glanced back a little. That fraction of a second made all the difference; one by one, three went past Milkha. “I desperately tried to catch up at least with the man in the third place, the South African Spence, who I had beaten at the Commonwealth Games. As the race ended, we apparently finished equal.”

The announcement of the result was withheld for sometime as the official photo finish was awaited. Unfortunately, Milkha was fourth with the South African just edging him for the bronze.

Still, Milkha had broken the Olympics record — such was the strength of the field that day: the first two bettered the world record and the third and the fourth going past the Olympic record.

Milkha remains the only South Asian athlete to break an Olympic record.

But this was a scant consolation. Milkha remained immersed in sorrow for days. Even today this brings tears in his eyes.

His son Jeev Milkha, the highest ranked Indian golfer in the world, says, “Father is going to die with this regret at the back of his mind.”

He came out of it in the only way he could; competing in the meets again. He was good enough to retain the 400 m gold at the Asian Games of 1962. Farhan Akhtar plays the role of Milkha in the movie. He worked tirelessly for almost two years to get into the lean and muscular figure for the role and also to develop a running style akin to that of the great athlete.

Sonam Kapoor is the lead lady who portrays Milkha’s first girlfriend inspiring him to join army. He also had a little flirt with an Australian female athlete.

Pakistani actress Meesha Shaafi also acts in the movie.

The movie has beautiful tracks in the voice of luminous singers including Diyya Kumar, Shreya Ghosal, Daler Mehndi and our own Arif Lohar.

Milkha hopes the movie will inspire the youth to excel at sports in general and athletics in particular. One expects the Pakistani youth is also motivated by the fascinating tale of South Asia’s greatest male athlete who was not only born in this country but also got his most popular title — ‘the Flying Sikh’ — here.

ijaz62@hotmail.com


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