LAHORE: Speakers during a hectic one-day sports seminar titled ‘Way Forward in Sports’ came up with numerous suggestions for the betterment of sports in the country with government-run Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) earning speakers’ ire.

However, the seminar organised by the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) on Sunday here at a local hotel ended without passing any resolution.

Though a good number of seasoned sports organizers delivered speeches that were mainly based on demands from the sports federations, none from the government side came in front to inform the audience about government’s future plan about sports development.

Though Federal Minister Riaz Pirzada and provincial ministers of four provinces were invited, they did not turn up to share their views at the seminar which was organized to discuss the shortcomings of sports industry.

However, Gilgit-Baltistan Sports Minister Fida Khan Fida attended the seminar and highlighted problems faced by Gilgit-Baltistan.

On the other hand, Though PSB director general Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera and Punjab Sports Department secretary Nayyer Iqbal attended the seminar, they did not speak on the occasion.

The seminar lasted almost eight hours with the speakers including Pakistan Volleyball Federation (PVF) president Mohammad Yaqoob, HEC chairman Mukhtar Ahmad, Pakistan Baseball Federation chairman Shauakt Javed, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Olympic Association president Syed Aqil Shah, Olympian Akhtar Rasool, Wapda chairman retired Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain, journalist Fahad Hussain, Pakistan Table Tennis Federation president S M Sibtain, Wapda Secretary Sports Board Aamer Ahmad and Services Brigadier Ghulam Jilani.

On the occasion, HEC chairman Mukhtar announced that his department was about to establish a Sports university in the country this year, adding the HEC would hire foreign expertise from Germany, Hungary and other countries to start the university.

Mukhtar said the HEC was paying attention to the promotion of sports but still a lot of work had to be done, adding he stood by the POA in promotion of sports culture.

Ex-Olympian Akhtar Rasool said that the country had got talent and could again earn the lost glories in the field of sports. He said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif must have been invited to the seminar as it was the need of the hour to promote sports.

Also, PVF president Mohammad Yaqoob called for development of sports at the grassroots level while laying emphasis on the need for working on professional lines. “The government and the POA should be on one page for the promotion of sports in the country,” he maintained.

Former national badminton champion and Pakistan Badminton Federation secretary Wajid Ali urged the electronic media particularly the state-run PTV Sports to air all sports activities.

Laying emphasis on the role of corporate sector in the promotion of sports, Pakistan Baseball Federation chairman Shaukat Javed cited as example the successful conduct of the Rio Olympics in Brazil where, he said, sponsors were encouraged by displaying their banners and logo. “And electronic media has got an important role in this regard,” he further said.

Wapda Sports Board Secretary Aamir Ahmad and Services Brigadier Ghulam Jilani presented comprehensive briefings on success and problems of their departments.

On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Olympic Association president Aaqil Shah said that the PSB should be revamped while stating that ‘Pakistan Sports Authority’ should be established with representation from national and provincial sports federations.

“The PSB instead of facilitating the sports associations to organize the events has started holding sports events itself,” Aqil complained and presented many solutions like building of sports complexes along the CPEC.

Earlier, POA president retired Lt Gen Arif Hasan and POA secretary Khalid Mahmood in their welcome address said that the aim of the seminar was to shed light on sports-related problems which in turn will help us do something concrete for the betterment of sports.

Published in Dawn January 30th, 2017