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Try
new zeal in Zimbabwe Pakistan should field their new kids in the two-match Test series against the minnows By Sohaib Alvi It’s a beautiful country. Victoria Falls, one of the world’s biggest and most spectacular waterfalls, is located there. The leader of Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugaba, has been at the helm since he led his people to independence, and Rhodesia (derived from the surname of Cecil Rhodes, the primary instigator of white colonisation of the territory during the late 19th century) changed to Zimbabwe in 1980. Thirty three years is a lot of time; it is equal to encompassing two world wars including the uneasy peace period in between. The Gentle
Giant who breathes fire
Sealed with a passionate
six
All set for Bali
Untimely decisions Pakistan’s
athletics legacy
Try new zeal in Zimbabwe Pakistan should field their new kids in the two-match Test series against the minnows By Sohaib Alvi It’s a
beautiful country. Victoria Falls, one of the world’s biggest and most
spectacular waterfalls, is located there. The leader of Zimbabwe,
President Robert Mugaba, has been at the helm since he led his people to
independence, and Rhodesia (derived from the surname of Cecil Rhodes,
the primary instigator of white colonisation of the territory during the
late 19th century) changed to Zimbabwe in 1980. Thirty three years is a
lot of time; it is equal to encompassing two world wars including the
uneasy peace period in between. You’d think that
with such elasticity of system, their cricket would be following on
similar patterns. Unfortunately, since the agriculture reforms Mugaba
introduced that handed over many non whites-run farms to the locals,
cricket has gone to the lotuses. When you think that
name “Zimbabwe” is based on a term in Shona (one of 16 languages
spoken in this country) for Great Zimbabwe, an ancient ruined city in
the country’s south-east, you realize that the country seems to have
come full circle. Think Zimbabwe cricket
team these days and you think of the stroll through to victory. Yeah,
the odd stand that threatens to draw or win the game followed the
collapse of the lower-order. That happens when they are not spending two
days in the field which is often more than the combined time they spend
in the dressing room over their two batting turns. The landlocked
country is not in too different a situation when it comes to cricket;
often playing with their hands tied by either a strike, emigration of
talent or frustrated retirements.
India rested almost
all their major players and won the ODI series 5-0. When it comes to
Tests, they are weaker. You can take advantage of an over or two to come
back into a T20I game, and the odd partnership that can defy the odds.
But it’s very difficult to sustain or up the pressure four times over
five days with both bat and ball. You can ride the rapids but you
can’t avoid going over the waterfall. “The tourists might
as well spend the five days at sightseeing” someone would say. Fact is
that this may be true to an extent when it comes to the current Zimbabwe
side, but in the nineties, this was a terrific (all or mostly white)
team with Alistair Campbell, the Flower brothers (Andy is coach of the
England side now and Grant in somewhat similar role with Zimbabwe),
Heath Streak, Murray Goodwin, Eddo Brandes, Neil Johnson and the
Whittall brothers, Andy and Guy. And if I remember correctly, three
pairs of brothers played in the Zimbabwe team at one time. Pakistan lost the
first ever Test they played here by an innings. And this was a couple of
years or so after they had won the World Cup and beaten England in
England in the summer of 1992. That was not the low point of the tour;
that came off the field later. You see, this was
where the decision was made by three players that they would simply
retire to protest against match-fixing; two went ahead. Flying out
Rashid Latif and Basit Ali, good friends and department teammates, made
sure their faxes reached the office of Arif Abbasi. All hell broke
loose, though the team found out what had happened when they returned
from a trip to Victoria Falls. Javed Burki was rushed
after a frantic telephone call went to the players who told all. As
expected, the officials, including manager Intikhab Alam dug their necks
into the sand, mum was the word but the damage had been done. The world
of Pakistan cricket would never be the same. Warne’s and Waugh’s
accusations against Salim Malik had no proof, but this was an eye
witness account from within. Pakistan had come back
strongly to win the next two Tests on that tour, but the tour wouldn’t
be remembered for the massive defeat of the world champions in the Test
or their series win. Back to the current
tour almost two decades later, both the teams have lost world class
players, some of them legends in the history of cricket, and the quality
of cricket on display will be ordinary. The only way it can
become interesting is if Pakistan play their new kids on the block and a
couple of not so old ones who have been given the rough end of the
stick. Of course it won’t
happen for the senior players will not allow the world to see there are
better and more exciting options than them. The less you know, the more
they’ll play. Maybe Moin Khan can
exert some pressure being chairman of the selection committee I hear,
though I feel that he will be outvoted be by the captain and vice
captain, who both stand to lose; and the coach knows that the more these
two stay the longer his tenure will extend. So you know where his vote
will go. Both are watching each others’ backs. With the withdrawal of
Imran Farhat, Shan Masood has got a ride with the big boys, and I would
play him just to get some curiosity back into the viewers; and a little
bit of fear into the johnnies holding on to their places with their
teeth. Khurram Manzoor could
have filed for unfair dismissal after the Australia tour, where he
scored some 70-odd when players like Yousuf and Misbah gave way to the
Australian bowling. Faisal Iqbal is
another batsman who has been showing extreme patience over the last two
years; reduced to a passenger, not playing in any game on any tour. To
the extent that when Misbah was banned for one Test on the Sri Lanka,
they replaced him with some novice they had taken along. You don’t
take an established batsman and sit him down in front of a debutant who
can hardly hit the ball; he was accused of not knowing how to run when
he responded to Adnan Akmal’s call of two with a casual first run
holding the gloves in his hand. Caught at the same end after Akmal had
swept and turned for the second with the ball well away, the ‘keeper
furiously shrieked at him: ‘My call! It was my call!’ Trying out Rahat Ali
and Ehsan Adil would be great; test them against a lighter side. Taking
wickets is not all that you want to see in raw fast bowlers. You want to
see the hunger in their eyes, their refusal to hang their shoulders
after a beating in an over or two and, most importantly, their mental
and physical fitness for the five day game. It will be tough for
them to get in, I know. Don’t see Hafeez, Azhar, Younis, Misbah and
Asad Shafiq not playing the first Test if not both. That leaves one
place for one from Khurram and Shan. Only an injury to one or two of the
other five can provide the chance for the reserve batsmen to get a foot
in. Likewise we’ve seen
enough of Wahab and since Irfan and Junaid have to be played, let’s
try out either Rahat or Adil. In fact, I’d even opt for Rehman or
Ajmal. We should take a leaf out of India who came here a couple of
weeks ago with Virat Kohli leading a less experienced side. If Dhoni can
carry drinks in a few ODIs on the tour of West Indies this July, why
can’t Misbah? Sohaib121&gmail.com
The
Gentle Giant who breathes fire During the recent Ramadan T20 inter-firm tournament at the Moin Khan Academy, I ran into Mohammad Irfan, Pakistan’s very own variant of the “Big Bird” of yesteryears, the great West Indian fast bowler Joel Garner. In some respects, both have similarities: unusually tall, well built and genuine fast bowlers. In fact, Irfan is a bit quicker and taller of the two. However, there is a glaring dissimilarity which is the difference in class of Joel Garner. He had more variation, superb control which is why it is hardly surprising that he was a scourge for many a batsman of the world. If statistics could be
the sole measure, then both in Tests and One-day Internationals the Big
Joe has an unenviable record, particularly in ODIs where he spearheaded
the cricket’s all-time rich pedigree of fast bowling. I attribute this differential in class to a simple fact: Joel Garner made his international debut when he was just eighteen while Irfan entered the international arena at a very late age of twenty-nine years. He perhaps didn’t and probably wouldn’t get the necessary exposure and opportunities to blossom into something of the kind or at best a prototype of Joel Garner. But this doesn’t mean that he has reached his plateau. Irfan comes from a humble background, is soft spoken and up till now doesn’t carry an air of distinction about him. These are all the basic ingredients of an attitude and behaviour of a sportsman who is willing to learn. I reckon any sportsman should be judged in two basic aspects: ability and the willingness to learn. In both of these aspects, Irfan ranks highly. Having said this I am also mindful of his present age. At 32, one may argue, he has only 2-3 years of useful cricket left in him. There are two important events in the next two years: the T20 and ODI World Cups. Let’s just see how he can be improved to lead Pakistan’s fast bowling attack. I don’t believe in tinkering with the originally developed action of a bowler except that when he is injury prone. Irfan has a decent
action but he needs to improve his fitness by a fair margin. Initially
in his bowling stride he was all arms and legs anywhere and everywhere
and although he has shown a marked improvement on his return to
international cricket I feel that he needs to raise his fitness level.
Next is his run-up to the wicket which is a bit tentative. If one has a
closer look it seems that he is conscious of landing his right foot
behind the popping crease to avoid a no-ball. This consciousness
doesn’t allow him to settle into a genuine and rhythmic motion and
resultantly there is a loss of pace. Finally at the point of delivery he
has to make use of his height and high arm action which to my
understanding suffers at times because of his falling sideways a bit
early in his delivery stride. He also needs to develop an effective yorker which can be used to mesmerize the top order batsman and finish off the tail. For all of the above he should be put under constant tutelage of none other than the great Wasim Akram so that he could make up for his late baptism in international cricket. The PCB must take the initiative of acquiring the services of Wasim for this purpose as soon as possible and in consultation with him, the head coach and the physical trainer should carefully plan and design the workload of Irfan. With combined inputs from these professionals a considered decision should be taken as to his playing span in different formats of the games. He should be allowed limited exposure to different leagues and PCB should compensate for this limited exposure. By nurturing and preserving him for the upcoming world cups, Pakistan will have a very potent weapon in its fast bowling inventory. Irfan has an ideal opportunity to lead the fast bowling attack with such guile and potency that the cricketing world should ultimately recognise him as a Gentle Giant who breathes fire. azharadb@yahoo.com
Sealed with
a passionate six August 27 was a historic day for Zimbabwe cricket. With the sun going down towards the west and the end of winter sunshine growing mellower, the breeze getting cooler, and the shadows of the tall verdant trees outside the picturesque and quaint Harare Sports Club ground lengthening, the southpaw Sean Williams struck the second ball of Mohammad Irfan’s last over for a huge six over mid wicket to bring a historic and memorable victory for Zimbabwe against Pakistan in the opening match of the ODI series. It was after a decade and a half that the Zimbabweans tasted victory in an ODI against Pakistan, who are currently No 2 in this format. The last time, to
refresh your memories, was at Sheikhupura in 1998. Congratulations to
their team, management, fans and cricket fraternity on this achievement. It is a pity crowds did not come to witness this match and the Twenty20 games earlier. Maybe it was because of the drubbing the Indians gave the hosts (5-0) a few weeks ago. Or maybe it was for economic reasons. Or maybe they could not come because it was a working day. Also because, unlike in our region, the most popular sport in Zimbabwe is football. There were also not countrywide or even citywide celebrations over the victory. No newspaper headlines screaming about the achievement. In fact the leading newspapers did not even carry the item on the front pages — it was reserved for the sports section. It will, however, give a great impetus to the sagging spirits of Cricket Zimbabwe for which this must be a dose of tonic. They have come out of some miserable and pathetic performances and players versus management problems. The strength of Zimbabwe lies in their opening batting pair of Hamilton Masakadza and Vusi Sibanda. They have opened together for years. In fact we are informed that they started together from their schooldays. During the last ten years Zimbabwe have registered century opening partnerships 11 times and on eight occasions the actors have been — yes you guessed it right — Masakadza and Sibanda. That tells a lot for the talents of the two and speaks volumes of the sensible and persistent policy of the Zimbabwe selectors of giving the pair such an extended run. Zimbabwe’s top and middle order batting also did not let them down on this occasion after a solid foundation had been laid. Brendon Taylor, the captain, at last came good after a miserable series against the Indians and Sean Williams sealed the victory with 10 deliveries still to come. The Zimbabweans’ bowling, particularly the pace of Panyangara, Vittori and Chattara, also played their part in keeping the strong Pakistani batting power house tied in knots. Zimbabwe’s fielding
though is not a shadow of what it used to be a decade ago. They are
flooring catches, missing run out chances and conceding extra runs. They
are aware of this and will be taking corrective measures. It is not easy to defend 244 in modern day cricket, particularly when Pakistan were playing a bowler short and the captain may have misread the pitch. Much was expected from the Pakistani young guns, but once again it was the senior statesmen Misbah and Hafeez who gave the total some semblance of respectability. Umar Amin and Haaris Sohail failed; chopping and change, and in and out policy in selection has to be reviewed. Sohaib Maqsood is being wasted. His talent deserves a place for him not only in Twenty20 and 50 overs formats but also in Tests. Abdur Rehman has been reduced to a tourist for so many trips. Use him or spare him the ignominy of wearing the yellow bib most of the time. Shahid Afridi was back to his usual self after his heroics in the Twenty20 games. Apart from the first ODI in the West Indies on July 14, 2013, when he scored 76 and took 7 for 12, Shahid has scored a total of 163 runs and taken 3 wickets in 10 matches this year. There is work to be done and a lot of it. Abdur Rehman should be seriously considered for a slot in place of a batsman and Anwar Ali deserves to be in the playing XI. Junaid Khan seems to be having problems with his rhythm. The skip before the launch into the run up seems more pronounced — is he contemplating participating in athletics? Mohammad Akram is working hard on the bowlers and Wasim Akram has also had his say — now what? Julian Fontaine is needed desperately as the Pakistan fielding seems to be on the slide. Nasir Jamsheed needs
to look seriously into his fitness; Irfan may be excused for not having
the fleetest of feet. But a word of praise must be added for the improvement in the fielding of the aging Saeed Ajmal. We saw some acrobatic and intelligent efforts from him. It is always good to be in Zimbabwe for cricket. The facilities are good; the people friendly and hospitable; the weather cool; the food wholesome and tasty. The literacy and education rate is very high; almost as high as that in Sri Lanka. Most people, young and old, speak English which is the official language and the lingua franca. There is a sizeable Pakistani population, if an estimated 250 families can be termed sizeable. Unlike the impression given sometimes the roads are driveable; the power situation is slightly better than at home; first impressions are that it is more expensive than home so far as food and other items are concerned. Cars of all makes are seen. These are of course imported and are highly priced. And... hold on. The legal currency here is the US Dollar. The Zimbabwean Dollar was discontinued in 2009. As the income of the people is in this currency they also spend in this currency. Whether this is good or bad only economists and bankers would be able to comment. chishty.mujahid@yahoo.co.uk
All set for
Bali To say that it was a remarkable feat would be an understatement. Bridge exponents from three generations of a family — Qudsia Dossa, her daughter Rubina Saeed Hai and grand daughter Fatima Raza — played key roles in Pakistan’s title-winning triumph at the 17th Bridge Federation of Asia and Middle East (BFAME) championship held in the Indian city of Ahmedabad earlier this summer. Now the trio is aiming at claiming more glory for Pakistan as they would be part of the national women’s team that will feature in the 41st World Bridge Teams Championship to be played in Nusa Dua, Bali (Indonesia) from 16-29 September, 2013. The Pakistani ladies qualified for the prestigious Venice Cup by winning the BFAME title. “All of us are itching to compete in the Venice Cup,” says Rubina Saeed Hai. “We make a very good team and are confident of doing well in Bali.” Back in Ahmedabad in
June, Rubina and her compatriots were at their best as they cruised to
be an impressive victory. They stunned defending champions India by
94-53 IMPs to take Vinodini Goenka trophy. The final of the women’s
event was expected to be a well contested affair. But that was not to be
as the Pakistan team, consisting of Rubina Agha (captain), Qudsia Dossa,
Fatima Raza, Rubina Hai, Roshan Bokhari and Zeenat Azwer proved their
strength and beat India by 94-53 IMPs. “It really felt great when we won the title for Pakistan on Indian soil,” says Rubina Hai. “Everything turned out to be memorable,” she adds. “The team was in terrific form throughout the tournament, the atmosphere in Ahmedabad was great and all of us had this unbelievable feeling when we won the championship. Everyone was so proud.” Qudsia Dossa — Rubina Hai’s mother — has been competing in international events including the BFAME championship since 1981. But it was the first time that she was accompanied by Rubina and Fatima. “Just winning the title was great but to win it with all three of us being a part of the victorious Pakistan squad was out of this world,” says Rubina. While veteran Qudsia played for Pakistan for the last 20 years and was also part of the Pakistan women’s team that finished runners-up at the 15th BFAME championship in Jordan in 2009, Rubina and Fatima were included in the Pakistan team this time after their fine show at the Women’s National Bridge Championship held in Karachi in May. “For the first time we all will be playing together in an international event, It’s indeed a proud moment for our whole family. Probably, this is the only game where three generations can play together. I feel fortunate to be part of this unique record,” says Qudsia. It is actually a unique feat in sporting history that women from three generations of a family were part of a team that won a major international title. Which is why it is hardly surprising that Rubina’s youngest daughter — Aliya — has shot an email to Guinness World Records, the global authority on record-breaking asking whether the trio have created a new record. “We are expecting to get an entry within the next few months,” hopes Rubina, who believes Pakistan can do well in the Venice Cup in Bali. The Venice Cup is a biennial world championship contract bridge tournament for national teams comprising women. It is contested every odd-number year under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), alongside the Bermuda Bowl (Open) and d’Orsi Bowl (Seniors). Entries formally represent WBF Zones as well as nations so it is also known as the “World Zonal Women Team Championship”, one of three “World Zonal Team Championships”. It was first contested in 1974, as one long match between two teams, and has been concurrent with the Bermuda Bowl from 1985. A buoyant Pakistan women’s team is looking forward to making its presence felt in the event, especially after overcoming major hurdles caused by a lack of sponsorship.“We went to India and won the title for Pakistan but had to pay for the trip from our own pockets,” laments Rubina. They feared a similar situation ahead of the Bali trip but a fund-raising campaign supported by Syed Ali Raza, the former President of National Bank of Pakistan, has helped them overcome this hurdle. “The money needed for expenses has been raised and now all of us are focusing on getting fully ready for the Bali assignment,” Rubina signs off. bilalsports86@yahoo.com
Untimely
decisions All is not
well in the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF). The steps which the
federation has been taking against its coaching and other staff members
for the last few years have left a serious question mark on the way
football is being run in Pakistan. It was in 2008 when
the PFF sacked coach Akhtar Mohiuddin in a bizarre way after his team
flopped in the SAFF Cup, jointly hosted by Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Akhtar came to know
about his removal when he was boarding a Pakistan-bound aircraft at the
Colombo airport. Akhtar, regarded as
one of the most experienced coaches, was shocked by the PFF’s untimely
punch. It was not the only time that Akhtar was treated like this. After
Austrian coach George Kottan was relieved of his job in early 2010
following Pakistan’s pathetic performance in the Dhaka South Asian
Games, Akhtar was given the task of coaching the side in the China Asian
Games at the end of that year. But after Akhtar’s
charges failed to impress in the continent’s biggest show, he was
abruptly removed. Zavisa Milosavljevic
became the latest victim of PFF when he was shown the exit door after
his team lost to Afghanistan 0-3 in a friendly on August 20 in Kabul. Zavisa, whose two-year
contract was to expire in the first week of November, did not expect
this and it left him shell-shocked. If the PFF had to
remove Zavisa they should have done so after Pakistan flopped in the
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup Qualifiers in
Kyrgyzstan early this year. Goalkeeping coach
Aslam Khan, who was part of Zavisa’s coaching staff for the SAFF Cup,
also fell victim to PFF’s firing.
Other staff members have also been treated in this whimsical
manner. In the recent past the
PFF showed the exit door to its Director Finance Nadia Naqvi, Director
Youth Development and Grassroots Siddique Sheikh and media manager Agha
Ajmal. They were forced to tender resignations although all of them were
doing their jobs diligently. The decisions have damaged the image of the
PFF and several other employees don’t feel any job satisfaction
despite extending good performance in their respective fields. The numbers don’t
end here. Former assistant coach Nasir Ismail was last year removed
ahead of the national team’s tour to Singapore. Assistant coach Gohar
Zaman was shown the exit door just ahead of the national team’s tour
to Thailand. Although Gohar was
sacked for managerial negligence, what was the fault of Nasir Ismail? Without creating a
decent working environment it is not possible to run a federation in a
professional manner. The PFF is regarded as one of the most resourceful
federations in the country — after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF). I don’t say that
they should not take decisions. But these should be timely. Since removing Agha
Ajmal in March this year, the PFF has been running its media department
on an ad-hoc basis by experimenting with staff members, who already have
other responsibilities. Coming back to the
episode of Zavisa and goalkeeping coach Aslam Khan, I would say that
their removal was not timely. They were sent back home when SAFF Cup was
just a week away. In order to hide their own follies the PFF resorted to
such a decision. One of the biggest failures of the PFF was that it did
not provide ample foreign exposure to the national team ahead of the
SAFF Cup, which Pakistan have never won. The loss against
Afghanistan was in a friendly and the players were not only tired but
they were also missing their five foreign-based colleagues who were a
vital part of the team’s chemistry. Now, if the boys fail
to click in Nepal — which appears most likely — then who will be
responsible? No one but the PFF. The PFF says Zavisa was responsible for
the failure. But it was PFF that chose the Serbian for this job. The PFF is in dire
need of a seasoned Director Technical who could streamline the whole
process. The PFF marketing consultant should not have a role in the
team’s making. His job should only be limited to finding sponsors and
generating revenues which the federation is direly in need of. The PFF has not only
made several mistakes at the top level but it has also made technical
blunders while preparing its junior teams for international assignments.
The PFF has now hired
the services of Bahraini coach Mohammed Shamlan for a couple of years.
He should be treated with respect. Anything rough on PFF’s part will
create more problems for Pakistan football. 73.alam@gmail.com
Pakistan’s
athletics legacy The 14th World Athletics Championships was recently held in Moscow. After the Olympics and the Football World Cup, the World Athletics Championships is the most watched and followed sporting event. As many as 1,974 athletes from 206 countries competed in the championships. Pakistan, the
world’s sixth most populous country, had only one representative: the
200-metre runner Liaqat Ali who owed his presence to a wild card entry.
No wonder he got eliminated in the first round. As many as 37 countries shared the 142 medals at stake. It might seem unbelievable but there was a time when Pakistan athletics had world class performers. That was half a century ago, in fifties and early sixties. One would immediately point out that Pakistan has never won an Olympic medal in track and field. It is pertinent to mention here that in those days, the Olympics were the only stage where athletes from all over the world competed. The World Athletics Championships began in 1983 and there were no grand prix athletics meets either. While Pakistan may not have won an athletics medal at the Olympics, a number of our athletes gave world class performances. Abdul Khaliq was the fastest man of Asia, winning the 100 metres sprint twice at the Asian Games (1954, 1958). Short and beautifully muscled, Khaliq excelled at the Olympics as well. In the 1956 Olympiad, he was at his peak, reaching the semi-finals of 100 and 200 metres and narrowly missing qualification for the final in both. His best timing in 100 metres was 10.4 sec, equal to that of the last Olympics (1952) gold winner. In 200 metre, his
performance was even more astonishing. He won both the first two rounds,
clocking 21.1 seconds. Unfortunately, Khaliq failed to repeat this
performance in the semi-final. His time was the best for all the rounds,
except the final. These achievements placed him in top seven sprinters
of the time. Ghulam Raziq was a world class hurdler who won every title other than an Olympic medal: two golds and a silver in three Asiads (1958, 62 & 66); gold at the 1962 Commonwealth Games, an honour which eluded Khaliq. Long-limbed Raziq had ideal physical attributes for a hurdler — speed, agility and suppleness. He too shone brightly at the Olympics, reaching the semi-finals in 1956 and 1960. Then there was the giant figure of Mohammad Iqbal, the hammer thrower. Iqbal won a complete set of medals; gold, silver and bronze in three Asiads (1954, 58 and 62). In more competitive environs of the Commonwealth Games, he grabbed gold in 1954 and silver four years later. In the 1956 Olympics, people had medal hopes from Iqbal. He was a bit off colour and yet he finished 10th. Another great Pakistani athlete who attained remarkable success in throwing events was Mohammad Nawaz, with javelin. Nawaz narrowly missed a hat-trick of Asiad golds. Having won gold in the previous two editions, he was narrowly beaten to second place in the 1962 Asiad. Nawaz’s Asian record stood for about two decades. At the Commonwealth Games, he bagged silver in 1954 and at the 1956 Olympics he was a creditable 13th. The saga is not restricted to sprints, hurdles or throwing. Pakistan also produced a remarkable long-distance athlete by the name of Mubarak Shah. He achieved what no Pakistani sportsman achieved in any discipline — two golds in a single Asiad. In 1962, Shah won the 3000-metre steeple chase as well as the 5000 metre race, creating a new Asian record in both. He had a good chance in the 10,000 metres but the schedule forced him to withdraw. Add to it the steeple chase gold at the 1958 Asiad and Mubarak has another unique record: three individual Asiad golds. To emphasise the magnitude of their achievements, how would it be to have a Pakistani tennis player in world’s top 7-12 rankings? Awesome! Khaliq, Raziq, Nawaz and Iqbal attained comparable status at some stage of their career. At the Olympics, track and field has forever been the top draw — and is dubbed “Mother of all Sports”. However, after those
“golden five”, Pakistan failed to produce a real world class
athlete. A few did shine at the Asian level: middle distance runner Mohammad Younis performed consistently well, winning silver, gold and silver at 1,500-metre in 1970, 74 and 78 Asiads; in the inaugural Asian athletics championships in 1973, Younis narrowly missed out on the middle distance runner’s double, beaten to silver in his favourite 1,500m after winning gold in 800m gold; in the same meet, Pakistan fetched another gold, through the javelin thrower Allah Dad. Ghulam Abbas (400m hurdles) won gold in the 1990 Asian Games. But no Pakistani athlete since the greats of 50s & 60s could go beyond the first round at the Olympics, World Championships and Commonwealth Games. What was special about the athletes of the 1950s and early 1960s? They were army soldiers and all came from the Potohar area of the Punjab and had a great mentor in Brig Rodham, who ensured proper coaching and regular international appearances for them. Perhaps more importantly, they were all primarily kabaddi players before joining army. Kabaddi, the traditional sport of Punjab, is regarded by many as the nearest thing to a complete sport. It builds all the major attributes — speed, stamina, strength as well as a killer-instinct. Athletics is one sporting discipline not requiring many resources. Poor countries like Kenya and Ethiopia are major powers in distance running. In Kenya, in the 1960s, the European priests were amazed to observe that the local children daily walked and ran miles on hills to reach school. They thought about utilising this immense stamina of poor kids into something beneficial. Hence, they devised the plan to groom these kids as long distance runners. The rest is history: Kenya has been the dominating force in races from 800 metres to the marathon for more than four decades. Hence, all that is required here in Pakistan is concerted efforts to identify the talent and provide proper training to it. The task is difficult but not impossible. ijaz62@hotmail.com
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