Year-Ender ––– 2023 not annus mirabilis for sports in Pakistan

By Muhammad Ali  

LAHORE: Pakistan sports remained in the spotlight for a couple of startling as well as many below par performances in 2023. The year wasn’t quite annus mirabilis for sports in Pakistan. There were highs and lows, and moments of raw emotion when athletes pushed the limits and revealed their human vulnerabilities. Perhaps the biggest news of the year was Asrhad Nadeem who brought smiles on the faces of his countrymen when he became the first Pakistan athlete to win silver at the World Athletics Championships. The once unthinkable was made possible by Arshad. The javelin marvel ensured Pakistan got its first medal at the World Championships in Budapest. Another marvelous news of the year was when Pakistan won the world junior squash title after 37 years through Hamza Khan. Like previous years, hockey, the national sport of Pakistan, kept on struggling for glory but failed in its quest. The messy affairs of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) pushed the already struggling sport into deeper morass. For the fourth consecutive time, Pakistan hockey was not part of the World Cup held in India. Germany won their third title after defeating defending champions Belgium in the final 5–4 in a shoot-out after the match finished 3–3 in regular time. The Netherlands captured bronze medal by winning 3–1 against Australia.

The Pakistan hockey team were knocked out of the Asian Champions Trophy after losing 4-0 against arch-rivals India in India. Pakistan ended at fifth spot above China. On the other hand, the Pakistan hockey juniors did show some hope when they took part in the Junior World Cup in Malaysia. There were few expectations. Even progressing beyond the pool stage seemed a tall order. But they secured eighth spot out of 16, surprising many and drawing praise. Field hockey, Pakistan’s national sport, once propelled the country to Olympic gold and global glory, but it has waned in popularity and participation over the past two decades. According to the latest rankings released by the FIH, Pakistan are ranked at number 16 in the world.

But the most disturbing news was Pakistan winning only three medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games held in China. For a country of over 240m people, it was appalling that Pakistan realistically had just one solid contender for a gold medal at the Asian Games. And once Arshad pulled out of the javelin event due to knee injury, all hope was lost. Pakistan finished with only three medals in Hangzhou: one silver in squash and two bronze — in shooting and kabaddi. It makes for grim reading when that number is compared to India’s record-breaking total of 107, which includes 28 golds. Countries everywhere use sports to exhibit their soft power, but Pakistan’s Asian Games performance in 2023 showed how off-track the country’s sporting ambitions are and how low we have gone down.

Interestingly, Pakistan football gave some good news during the year. Pakistan’s men’s football team made history by advancing to the second round of World Cup qualifiers after beating Cambodia 1-0 in Islamabad. It was the first time the national team won a qualifying game, setting off wild celebrations on the pitch and in the stands at Jinnah Sports Stadium in the Pakistan capital. Pakistan, ranked 197th in the world, had not won an international match since 2018 and were banned by FIFA in April 2021 for 15 months because of “undue third party interference” ––– their second ban in four years.

Three Pakistan mountaineers scale Mount Everest: In May, three Pakistan mountaineers scaled Mount Everest to bring laurels for their country. Renowned mountaineer Sajid Sadpara made history when he scaled the world’s highest peak without the support of supplemental oxygen and assistance from Sherpas, who are considered elite mountain climbers in Nepal. Naila Kayani scaled the world’s tallest peak, becoming the second female Pakistan climber to achieve the feat. Nadia Azad, Pakistan-born British, was the third to reach top of the Mount Everest. Samina Baig, a high-altitude female mountaineer from Gilgit-Baltistan, made history in 2013 when she became the first Pakistan woman to ascend Mount Everest.

Hamza wins Junior World Squash Championship crown: In July, Pakistan celebrated its victory at the World Junior Squash Championship after a long wait of 37 years. Hamza Khan, 17, won the title after defeating Egypt’s Mohamed Zakaria 3-1 in a thrilling match in Melbourne, Australia. The last time a Pakistani won the championship was in 1986 when the legendary Jansher Khan lifted the trophy. Since then, only two Pakistanis have managed to make it to the final, the last in 2008. Hamza belongs to Nawa Killi village in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which has produced some of the legends of squash – a game Pakistan once dominated on the global stage. Despite belonging to a family which produced world number 14 Shahid Zaman Khan and former British Open winner Qamar Zaman, Hamza’s path to victory was not easy.

Javelin thrower Arshad bring smiles for his countrymen: Arshad’s potential was never in doubt for a medal at the World Athletics Championships 2023 in Hungary in August. The 26-year-old had won gold at Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022. Arshad won silver after a year out of international action following an elbow surgery and recovery from a knee injury. For a country whose past entries have never gone beyond the qualifying stage, Arshad advanced not only to the finals but also lifted the medal. With a throw of 87.82m, which saw him finish just 35cm behind Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, who won India’s maiden gold at the event, Arshad showed all and sundry that he belongs among the world’s elite throwers. His feat in javelin no doubt put Pakistan on the map. He has proved to be Pakistan’s best bet to end a long Olympic medal drought, which will be 32 years at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024.

Pakistan hockey team knocked out of Asian Champions Trophy: In August, the Pakistan senior hockey team were knocked out of the Asian Champions Trophy after losing 4-0 against arch-rivals India in Chennai, India. Pakistan ended at fifth spot above China. Pakistan had won the coveted trophy twice in 2012 and 2013 while they shared the trophy with India in 2018 after rain played spoilsport in Muscat, Oman. Pakistan were finalists on two occasions: 2011 and 2016. It was unfortunate that the Pakistan hockey team, for the first time, failed to reach the last four of the ACT since the introduction of the tournament. Pakistan, Japan and South Korea all had the same number of points but the latter teams made their way to the semi-finals due to better goal difference. The 2023 Asian Champions Trophy was the seventh edition. Hosts India won the record fourth title after defeating Malaysia 4–3 in the final. Japan won bronze medal after beating defending champions South Korea 5–3.

International Hockey Federation revokes Pakistan’s hosting rights for Olympic qualifier: In the second week of September, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) stripped Pakistan of the hosting rights for the Olympic Qualifier tournament which was scheduled to be held in January 2024, marking a setback for the South Asian country which was once counted among the global powerhouses of the sport. China, Spain and Pakistan were supposed to host the qualifiers from January 13 to 21 in 2024. The matches in Pakistan were scheduled to be held in Lahore. It was very unfortunate that the FIH withdrew hosting rights for the qualifiers from Pakistan due to “non-cooperation and interference in the PHF’s affairs” by the government.

Pakistan ends 19th Asian Games on disappointing note with only three medals: In October, Pakistan concluded their Asian Games campaign in Hangzhou, China on a disappointing note, bagging only three medals while China topped the charts with 383 and India bagged 107 medals. The 19th edition concluded after two weeks of highs and lows, featuring various Asian countries competing in tournaments ranging from cricket to eSports, and track and field competitions. The Asian Games featured over 12,000 athletes competing in 40 sports across 54 venues. Despite being a leading contender in cricket, sports, hockey and kabaddi competitions, Pakistan were unable to secure a large number of medals in the competition. Of the three medals that Pakistan won, it managed to win only one silver and two bronze medals. Afghanistan fared better than Pakistan, bagging five medals in total which included one silver and four bronze medals. There were humbling defeats in disciplines Pakistan once dominated. In the men’s team squash final, India edged out Pakistan. Men’s cricket fell to Afghanistan in the semi-finals and then lost to Bangladesh in the bronze category. But perhaps the most embarrassing defeat came in hockey where Pakistan were crushed 10-2 by India. It was a record win — by a sizeable margin — in Pakistan-India hockey rivalry, the result exemplifying how far Pakistan had fallen. The men’s kabaddi team also suffered at the hands of India in the semi-final. China topped the medals chart with 201 gold, 111 silver and 71 bronze medals. Japan finished second after bagging 52 gold medals, 67 silver and 69 bronze medals to take its tally to 188 medals. South Korea finished third on the medals chart, bagging 42 gold, 59 silver and 89 bronze medals to take its tally to 190 medals. Pakistan’s neighbour and arch-rival India bagged 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze medals to take its tally of medals to 107. This was India’s best performance in the Asian Games in the past 60 years. In the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, Pakistan claimed four medals in total.

Pakistan football’s fine performances: Pakistan men’s, women’s, and junior squads participated in different contests giving joy to the football supporters in the country. In October, Pakistan’s men’s football team defeated Cambodia, 1-0 at Jinnah Stadium, Islamabad, to qualify for the 2nd round of a FIFA World Cup qualifier for the first time in the country’s history. Pakistan’s diaspora player Harun Hamid cemented his place in the history books when he scored the winner in the 68th minute of the second-leg match between Pakistan and Cambodia. This was a historic win because Pakistan had never qualified for the 2nd round of a World Cup qualifier before this. Pakistan joined Tajikistan, Jordan, and one of the best Asian teams, Saudi Arabia, in the 2nd round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier. Pakistan headed to Arab land in November 2023, when they had to face Saudi Arabia in the first match of their 2nd round campaign. Pakistan lost 4-0. The score still seemed decent when the audience saw Australia defeating Bangladesh, 7-0, and Qatar defeating Afghanistan, 8-1 in the same week. In April, Pakistan women’s team created history by defeating Tajikistan 1-0, in an Olympic qualification match. The result was even more exciting when people saw the men’s team losing to the same country, 6-1. The women’s team was playing without their first-choice striker Nadia Khan and captain Maria Jamil Khan. Another diaspora player, Zahmena Malik, scored a goal in the 26th minute to achieve the honor for her country. In September, Pakistan played in the final of the 2023 SAFF (South Asian Football Federation) Under-19 tournament in Nepal where they finished as the runners-up. Their journey consisted of winning against hosts Nepal 1-0 and drawing against Maldives 1-1 in the group stage. The national team won the semi-final against Bangladesh through penalties 6-5 after the match ended level on 0-0 in regulation time. Pakistan also performed well in the 2023 SAFF Under-16 event in September in Bhutan, where they finished as the semi-finalists, losing to Bangladesh 2-1. The team defeated Bhutan 2-1 and Maldives 3-0 in the group stage of that event.

Pakistan cueists claim silver, bronze medals in World Snooker: In November, Pakistan cueists Ahsan Ramzan and Naseem Akhtar claimed silver and bronze medals respectively in the IBSF World 6 Red Snooker Championship 2023 in Doha, Qatar. Pakistan’s Ahsan Ramzan lost to Michael Georgiou of Cyprus in the final. Michael played well against the Pakistan snooker champ and downed him by 6-4 (22-36, 39-7(39), 30-37, 34-26(34), 13-48(31), 33-22, 12-50, 47-06, 71-0(71), 41-20) in the final. Earlier in the semifinals, Ahsan defeated Ali Alobaidli of Qatar by 6-4 (57-0, 35-32, 41-10, 12-43, 35-18, 14-39, 14-31, 0-46(36), 37-25, 41-01) and Michael beat Pakistan’s Muhammad Naseem Akhtar by 6-5 (65-0(64), 06-42(33), 39-22(33), 68-0(68), 25-44, 67-0(67), 0-40, 4-44, 46-08(37), 0-45(41), 32-24) to earn places in the final.

Pakistan show some hope at Junior Hockey World Cup: When the Pakistan hockey team embarked on their journey for the Junior World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, there were no expectations. But the juniors performed reasonably well. When they opened with a 3-3 draw against the Netherlands, it was an unexpected result. Thanks to a 4-0 win over New Zealand and a crucial 1-1 draw against Belgium, they made it to the last eight where they went down 4-2 to finalists Spain. That performance drew praise from Spain’s coach and players; some more came from Australia, who beat Pakistan 7-5 in the fifth to eighth place classification match. Pakistan ended the tournament in eighth place after losing 6-3 to Argentina in the seventh place playoff. But there was a feeling that Pakistan could have done even better. The eventual results might not have been good but at least there was some promise. The fact that they were not completely bulldozed must be acknowledged.

PHF president Khalid removed as Tariq takes charge: In the last week of December, the federal government removed PHF president Brig (r) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar and replaced him with Tariq Hussain Mansoori Bugti. Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar appointed Tariq, a former MPA from Balochistan, as the PHF president, giving him the mandate to constitute a five-member committee to deal with the day-to-day affairs of the body besides scrutinising clubs and the electoral college to set the foundation for its “free and fair elections”. Khalid, however, is recognised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) as the legitimate president of the PHF. He announced that he would file a court case against the government’s decision. Khalid said the verdict of the Prime Minister, who is the PHF’s patron-in-chief, was against the policies of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Pakistan Olympic Association (POA). Tariq Bugti also made other changes in the PHF: the national selection committee headed by Kaleemullah and the national team’s coaching staff led by Shahnaz Sheikh were brought back. Tariq Bugti sacked the selection committee led by Asif Bajwa while Dutchman Roelant Oltmans, who was supervising the national team`s camp in Rawalpindi for the upcoming Olympic qualifiers, was asked to leave without being at the helm for a single game in his second tenure as head coach of the national squad.

Any hope for 2024? 

Sports are littered with examples of sports men and women who have performed well against the odds —- that’s partly what keeps us watching as spectators. Confucius said: “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” This quote, in part, explains why sports people can recover from adversity and perform well. Some would argue that failure is a necessary part of the process of success. The important thing here is not the adversity that is faced but how those affected react to the adversity. One can respond by giving in and allowing the adversity to perpetuate, developing a culture of failure, or by demonstrating a dogged determination to rebuild and rise again. Athletes are marked by their heroics, their endeavor and their struggle against the odds. Same goes for sports administrators. It is very unfortunate that like many other institutions, Pakistan sports have also failed to sustain and grow as a national priority. Sports activities in the country have been reduced to matter of chance and personal interest only. Pakistan has been showing glimpses of brilliance occasionally but that is due to individual interest, comparatively low level of international competition, fewer scientific interventions and due to existence of financial support extended to sportspeople through departments or their parents. Lack of availability of proper facilities and infrastructure, inadequate role of sports federations and lack of support from the government has badly affected Pakistan’s graph in sports. There have been some individual successes, but such victories have been few and far between. Over the years, not one, not two but almost all sports have experienced a sharp slump in our country. It goes beyond misfortune and carelessness and instead appears to be a trend.

Perhaps the biggest reason for the extraordinary decline in sports in Pakistan is lack of funding and vision. Pakistan’s sports budget is the lowest in South Asia, less than that of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and even Afghanistan. Governments all over the world keep sports and education as their top priority, build infrastructure, hold talent development programmes for players and promote medical sciences in sports to compete the world of sports. But in Pakistan it is totally opposite because sports are not our priority.

What more depressing is that sports activities in schools, colleges and universities have touched an all-time low because of diminishing sports fields, poor systems and lack of interest in sports by young generation that have many other options to keep them occupied. But perhaps the worst aspect of this development is that educational administrators no longer feel that sports are an integral part of all decent educational systems. Some even think it is a waste of time. That is why Pakistan is failing in producing world class sportspersons.

It is very unfortunate that Pakistan sports, over the years, have become politicised and nepotistic. Modern sports structures all over the world have sports institutions as integral components of their systems. It is unfortunate that after 75 years we have not been able to establish one. Sports are neither a burden on national economy nor an impediment to development, but an engine for economy and development and means to strengthen the socio-economic order. It is indeed a force multiplier to strengthen the federation and promote peace and harmony among provinces. Pakistan sports desperately need qualified human resource in terms of coaches, trainers, physios, sports psychologists, administrators, sport medicines experts, and referees. The dismal state of sports affairs of the country should be a wake-up call for the government, and the sporting authorities. To rise above again, Pakistan sports strong financial backup, commitment and self-belief. Only hard and incessant efforts lead to success. In the absence of these, we should not dream of reaching for the skies!