LAHORE: As few as seven athletes were named in Pakistan’s contingent for the upcoming Olympic Games, which was announced on Saturday.

The 18-member contingent includes 11 officials, who will travel along with the athletes to Paris for the Games, which start on July 26.

Among the seven athletes, javelin thrower and Pakistan’s only goal-medal hope Arshad Nadeem and shooters Ghulam Mustafa Bashir (25m Rapid Fire Pistol), Gulfam Joseph (10m Air Pistol, 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team) and Kishmala Talat (10m Air Pistol, 25m Pistol, 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team) are participating in the Games after qualifying for their respective events.

Faiqa Riaz (Universality Place, athlete, 100m race), Mohammad Ahmed Durrani (200m Freestyle (Universality Place) and Jahanara Nabi (200m Freestyle (Universality Place), on the other hand, are wildcard entries.

Arshad and Jahanara have been chosen as the national contingent’s flagbearers for the Games’ opening ceremony.

Among the 11 officials, six are the contingent’s officials, including the chef de mission, deputy chef de mission and an admin officer.

Four more officials — Dr Syed Meesaq Hussain Rizvi (chief medical officer), Kashif Jameel (NOC Olympic Attaché ), Rizwan Ahmed (welfare officer). The rest of the officials are either athlete coaches or managers.

Pakistan failed to qualify for any other disciplines including hockey, wrestling, boxing, weightlifting and volleyball.

Departures for Paris are scheduled from July 19 to July 24, with return arrangements set after the conclusion of respective events.

Pakistan contingent:

Athletics: Arshad Nadeem, Faiqa Riaz, Salman Iqbal Butt (support staff), Dr. Ali Sher Bajwa (support staff); Swimming: Mohammad Ahmed Durrani, Jehanara Nabi, Lt Col (retired) Ahmed Ali Khan (support staff); Shooting: Ghulam Mustafa Bashir, Gulfam Joseph, Kishmala Talat), Col Junaid Ali (support staff), Gennady Solodovnikov (support staff); Contingent officials; Mohammad Shafiq (chef de mission), Javaid Shamshad Lodhi (deputy chef de mission); Zainab Shaukat (admin officer).

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2024