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The flight of a shuttlecock, the delight of a rally, the delicate lob, the deft flick and an overpowering smash down the line: the game of badminton delights because of its beautiful simplicity. But in Pakistan, badminton has been made particularly complicated: shuttlers (as Pakistani players are called) are fast losing their feathers because the game is now trapped in vicious political machinations.
Much like some other sports bodies in the country, the Pakistan Badminton Federation (PBF), too, has been divided into two parallel federations by people with vested interests. Without even pondering over the question of which federation is genuine, the very existence of two feuding federations has damaged the game.
The intensity of this damage can be gauged from the fact that now Pakistani badminton players have been deprived of participation on the international circuit as the Badminton World Federation (BWF), in April 2011, barred them from appearing in any international contest until the parallel bodies issue is settled.
One faction of the PBF is led by the Lahore-based Mian Iftikhar, whereas Islamabad-based ex-federal minister Nazar Mohammad Gondal is heading the other faction. The former has the blessing of the Pakistan Olympic Association while Gondal’s federation is backed by the Pakistan Sports Board.
Despite the passage of over two years since the ban, nobody from either faction has moved forward to resolve the issue in the larger interest of the game. Neither has any government functionary come forward to play its role for an amicable solution to the problem and save players’ careers.
Owing to Pakistan’s suspension, not only are the local players unable to participate in any world-level contest, the PBF officials are also barred from attending the BWF’s annual general meetings. The BWF had informed PBF Secretary Aamir Hayat Khan Rokhri of this decision through a letter.
Now after Rokhri’s death nobody cares about the players. It is ironic that both the PSB and POA are involved in creating parallel bodies as different federations. Both are to be blamed for destroying an Olympic sport in Pakistan due to political wrangling.
This ongoing tussle between the two factions has caused great damage to the game that has produced many worldclass players in Pakistan of the likes of Jimmy Hazare, Shamshad Ali, Mennon Soares, Naqi Mohsin, Masood Khan, Rustam Bharucha, Latif Ghani, Tariq Wadood, Akram Baig, Salahuddin, Irshad Baig, Anwar Saeed, Wajahat Ali, Hassan Shaheed, Javed Iqbal, Ali Yar Baig, Iftikhar Hussain, Yuanne Roberts, Elsie Hunts, G. Rodrigues, Afshan Shuja, Nuzhat Farooqi, Talat Sultana, Zarina Jamal, Asma Butt, Aisha Akram, etc.
Clearly, this means nothing to the officials from both factions. For the players however, the game is their bread and butter and in the absence of sufficient badminton activities in the country and blocked participation in international events, these players are not even getting any jobs as many departments have already disbanded their teams while others are considering doing so.
Pakistan’s top badminton players lament the sorry state of the game in the country and blame the POA and PSB for doing nothing to revoke the ban. Rizwan Azam, one of the top players of the game, comments, “Our players are suffering badly due to the ban. They are losing hope about their future, which seems bleak. The new generation is no longer interested in playing badminton as without participating in competitions abroad it has lost its charm anyway.” Azam thinks that there was only one person here who was sincere to the game, the late Aamir Hayat Khan Rokhri, who would take a personal interest in sending players out to feature in tournaments at the international level. “Badminton in Pakistan has been orphaned after his passing away,” he regrets.
It may be mentioned here that Azam, pairing up with Kashif Sulehri, had participated in a few international tournaments three years back and improved Pakistan’s international ranking to reach the 52nd position. Both had won the doubles title in the International Badminton Challenge Cup, held in Maldives in 2010.
Another international player, Wajid Ali, is also disappointed with the situation, terming it as the worst in the history of Pakistan badminton. The eight-time national champion says that the game is in a miserable state and if immediate steps are not taken for its revival, it will be wiped out.
Ali was among the top 75 players of the world’s 600 players. He says that the ban has isolated the country and its players. Ali and other former international players including Iftikhar Hussain, Amir Islam, Ahsan Qamar, Asma Butt and some current players have demanded fresh elections of PBF under the supervision of POA and PSB to resolve the crisis.
The writer is a senior sports journalist.
