CATCH ‘em young. The four-nation South Asian Cadet and Junior Table Tennis Championships that concluded in Karachi on Sunday have sent a message to the corridor of power in Islamabad to “invest in youth for a better tomorrow”.

Sunday July 17 was an eventful day for Pakistan. The cricket team’s 75- runs triumph over England in the first Test at Lord’s after two decades, pugilist Mohammad Waseem’s honour to become first Pakistani pro boxer to win WBC silver flyweight title at Seoul and, last but not the least, young Faizan Zahoor’s gold in cadet singles of South Asian TT infused new spirit among the 180-million Pakistanis and raised their heads high.

Our athletes should now compete with the motto in mind that “they are the best” in the world.

Statistics are a true barometer to judge the achievements and it is on record that Pakistani athletes have done wonders despite lack of facileties and nutrition and if the shortcomings are overcome, they have the ability to rule the world again in sports.

Pakistan fielded a 15-member team in the South Asian TT competition which envisaged five boys and four girls in juniors and three boys, three girls in cadet. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa earned a lion’s share of seven players, followed by Punjab six and Sindh two, both Karachiites.

It is a good omen that Army has hired the services of three of the 15 players including a girl. They include juniors Syed Obaid Shah and Nimra Rehman (KP) and cadet Faizan Zahoor (Punjab).

A junior should have to be under-18, born in 1998 and after, while the cadet should be under-15, born in 2001 and after.

Karachi was once considered as hub of the game and on many occasion Karachi players used to form entire Pakistan teams. Unfortunately, the law and order situation during the past few years had adversely affected the local players.

The Karachi Table Tennis Association (KTTA) has been activated after the induction of some former players who wanted to repay the debt.

The Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) on the instructions of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has also introduced Hopes Week and Challenge, a programme for the under-12 which has proved beneficial.

New find Ummam Khowaja, who hails from Swat, finished seventh at the ITTF World Hopes Week and Challenge held at Qatar in the recent past which is testimony of concerted efforts and hard work.

These and other junior players need encouragements and monthly stipends to carry on with their practice in order to bring more laurels to the nation.

The financial institutions should be asked to open employments opportunities for colts to revive sports culture in the country.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2016