KARACHI, Sept 25 Athletics has suffered a lot in Sindh in general and in Karachi in particular during the last quarter-of-a-century at the hands of their parent body which doesn't want the sport to prosper in this part of the country.

It is on record that the athletes of Karachi have proved their mettle by giving tough time to their counterparts from the Army and other departments despite the meagre resources at their disposal.

Be it a track or field event, the superiority of some of the Karachi athletes of yore was so much that it wasn't easy for the opponents to go past them.

It seems that those who matter in the corridors of power have succeeded in their designs by creating a dent in the ranks and files of Sindh Athletics Association which is visible since long.

To set the record straight, Sindh was not represented in the electoral meeting of the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) held in Lahore recently as no body exists in the province. However, the chairman and secretary of the AFP constituted Management Committee have gone to Lahore and attended the meeting as observers but did not cast their vote.

An eight-member Management Committee was constituted by the AFP in Oct last to run the affairs of sport in the province and hold provincial elections by Dec 31, 2008. It is quite surprising that a year has been passed since then.

The AFP secretary has called upon the Sindh Olympic Association (SOA) and the Sindh Sports Board (SSB) to finalise the Electoral College for holding the long-awaited polls.

“There has been a long standing dispute among various parties and, hence, it is important that absolute fair elections should be conducted as soon as possible”, President of the SOA and Sindh Sports Minister Dr. Mohammad Ali Shah said in a communication to the AFP secretary dated Sept 2.

Earlier, the minister was annoyed when Razzak Arain abstains from a meeting convened in the formers office on Aug 29 to resolve the dispute. Arain is the chairman of the Management Committee and a contender for the presidential slot of SAA. According to an official letter, the date and time was fixed with his (Arain's) convenience and desire.

Former athlete Syed Zahid Ali Rizvi who has headed the SAA besides serving as secretary in the past is also in line for the post.

Knowledgeable sources told Dawn that the voters list forwarded to the AFP by the Sindh government and Arain differs from each other.

The SAA is the only disputed body in Sindh and, hence, not part of the SOA.

It is shameful that the metropolis which has produced a galaxy of athletes returned gold less in men's track and field events from the Sindh Games held at Larkana recently.