The Sports Board Punjab (SBP), on the instruction of the chief minister, has decided to hold under-19 level competitions in nine boys and seven girls’ disciplines as part of the talent hunt scheme.

Nowhere in the world the U-19 age is meant to spot talent as true age of spotting the sports talent starts from 14 years.

The SBP has formed a thin-tank comprising legendary sports personalities like Akhtar Rasool, Shahnaz Sheikh, Tauqeer Dar, Shahbaz Ahmad Senior, Khawaja Junaid, (in hockey) and Intikhab Alam and Azhar Khan (in cricket) to take decisions for successfully holding the entire programme starting from April this year.

But even the think-tank has ‘failed to pinpoint the right age’ for the talent hunt scheme.

Some circles think that it may be a move by the government to attract under-19 sportspersons who are also eligible to cast vote in the next general elections in 2018.

One hopes that the political aim will not be a motive of the government, otherwise the entire process will be a waste of funds and time. Hopefully, the chief minister will personally look into the affairs of the talent hunt programme.

In fact, the SBP is responsible for hosting 24 sport disciplines for both boys and girls in the age categories of U-14 and U-16, respectively.

It is the right age to pick the talent and then groom them with four to five years of modern coaching to prepare them for international competitions.

According to the programme, the boys will compete in nine different disciplines -- cricket, hockey, football, volleyball, table tennis, badminton, athletics, wrestling and kabaddi. The girls will not compete in wrestling and kabaddi disciplines.

The competitions will be held at tehsil, inter-district and inter-division levels.

The best talent at the inter-district level will be awarded scholarships from the Sports Endowment Funds and the best talent at the inter-division will get further training at the academy.

Since Pakistan has no qualified coaches and trainers who can run such academies on modern lines, the programme may fail to deliver the real purpose.

Abig golfing activity at the national level has started at the Lahore Garrison Club course this last week. A total of 482 golfers, including professionals, amateurs, veterans, ladies and youngsters, are in Lahore to compete in their respective categories.

Top professionals -- Shabbir Iqbal, Matloob Ahmed, Mohammad Munir and Shahid Javed -- are included in the run for the main title.

The professionals will also earn cash prizes while four cars are also at stake for those golfers who will do hole-in-one.

Probably this is the first time that four cars are at stake. It is the first professional tournament which is being played in Lahore in this season. The four-day tournament will conclude on Sunday (today).

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) president Giles Clarke, who is also the head of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Task Force on Pakistan, has arrived in Lahore on a two-day visit to monitor security arrangements of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the resumption of the international cricket here.

The international cricket is currently suspended in Pakistan after the terrorists attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009.

Clarke met Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and heads of other security agencies. This is the first visit of Clarke to Pakistan since the task force was formed in 2009.

The resumption of international cricket mainly depends on Clarke’s positive report about the security situation in Pakistan.

In his media talk, Clarke expressed hope that the international cricket in Pakistan would soon be resumed.

He said the Pakistan government had made impressive security arrangements and efforts in this regards were praiseworthy.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2017