THIS refers to the editorial ‘Improved performance’ (Oct 6), which argued that Pakistan’s haul of 10 medals (two silver and eight bronze) represents the country’s best performance since the 2002 Busan Games. This claim is misleading and conflates gross medal haul with actual sporting rank. In international multi-sport events, the medals table is ordered primarily by gold medals, and not aggregate volume. A nation winning a single gold ranks above a nation with 10 silvers and no gold. By this standard, Pakistan’s 29th-place finish is far from being ‘historic’.
At the 2010 Guangzhou Games, Pakistan secured three golds, two silvers and three bronzes to finish 20th in the medal standings, while during the 2014 Incheon Games, we got one gold, one silver and three bronze medals, finishing 23rd.
A closer look at the individual disciplines further deflates the ‘celebration’. A team silver and an individual bronze in squash are underwhelming for a nation that once dominated major events like the British Open and World Open.
With only three traditional contenders at the Asian level — Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka — a silver in the men’s cricket event and bronze in the women’s category cannot be termed exceptional. Pakistan boasts a record eight Asian Games gold medals in hockey, and now settling for bronze does not warrant self-congratulation.
While medal-winning efforts in e-sports and mixed martial arts are commen-dable, bronze medals in fringe or newly- introduced events do not offset the void at the top of the podium. Genuine praise belongs to the men’s volleyball team for capturing bronze, Pakistan’s first medal in the discipline since 1962, in a fiercely competitive global sport, alongside the bronze in shooting.
Smaller nations with modest sporting budgets, such as North Korea, Macao, the Philippines, Vietnam, Tajikistan, Myanmar and Jordan, have attained places higher on the medals table simply because they could produce champions who were capable of crossing the line for gold.
Pakistan has to revamp its grassroots sports governance and convert podium finishes into gold. Till then, celebrating the current 29th-place finish as an ‘improved performance’ only breeds complacency.
Ijaz Chaudhry
Lahore
Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2026
