Pakistan is sending an 18-member contingent to Paris for the Games, which include only seven athletes and 11 officials.

Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem and swimmer Jahanara Nabi (200m Freestyle) are going to be the national contingent’s flagbearers for the Games’ opening ceremony.

The other participants include shooters Ghulam Mustafa Bashir (25m Rapid Fire Pistol), Gulfam Joseph (10m Air Pistol, 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team), Kishmala Talat (10m Air Pistol, 25m Pistol, 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team), Faiqa Riaz (athlete, 100m race) and Mohammad Ahmed Durrani (200m Freestyle) .

Our best hope for a medal this time is, of course, Arshad Nadeem, who came fifth in his debut Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020, and has since won a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games , and a silver medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.

Another laudable inclusion this year is 21-year-old Kishmala Talat, the first Pakistani woman to qualify for Olympic shooting competition. As Pakistan’s first Olympic markswoman, Kishmala Talat will compete in the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol events. Talat has won dozens of medals at the national level and four internationally, including Pakistan’s first-ever shooting medal, a bronze, at the Asian Games last year.

She has a global ranking of 37th in the 10m event and is 41st in the 25m, according to the International Shooting Sport Federation.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 10th, 2024