26 replies to this topic

[fc1000]

I am enjoying watching the olympics here in the UK, but I find it  disappointing that in 2012, once again Pakistan is going to be the largest country not to win any medals.

Iran has 8 medals (including 4 gold) and India has 4 medals. We should be as good as these 2 countries.

For a country of 180million it should be embarrasing, but this issue is never discussed in our media or political circles. Instead of focusing on improving performance, the politically appointed sports adminstrators use international tournaments as an excuse for free foriegn trips.

We used to be good at hocky when it was played on grass but now because it is played on artificial turf it has become a faster sport and requires more strenght and athleticism, Pakistan as become average at this sport. We also used to be good at squash but that was mainly due to one family. We used have slight chance in boxing as well.

We are good at cricket, but lets face if someone as unfit as Inzimam can be world class than cricket is not much of a sport. Fast bowlers need to be fit but the requirements of bowling are very one dimensional - you don't need to be an outstanding athlete to be a bowler.

We cannot use excuse of no facilities or lack of resources because  African countries like Ethiopia which suffers from famine will win medals. Personally I blame Pakistani middle classes - because the medallist at the olympics tend  to be from the middle classes. The poor cannot afford to take part in sport, the ruling classes are not interested in sport, which leaves the middle classes.

Our middle class diet is very poor. Our middle classses consider it beneath themselves if they eat anything other than red meat. They tend to eat red meat with everything - it has to be meat with vegetables, never vegetables on their own. As result by their 20s people tend to put on wieght around their bellies. You only have to look at Pakistani policemen (especially in Punjab) to realise how unfit Pakistani middle class is.

Countries like USA have a higher rate of obesity than Pakistan, but they have a bigger population base from which they pick their sports people. In Pakistans case the social back ground from which the sportsmen can emerge is very small in size and  is made even smaller by people from that background being unfit.

Is there any sport in which Pakistan is capable of winning medals at the Olympics? We consider our armed forces as the best in the world therefore surely we could produce someone who can win a medal in sport like shooting.

[butterfly]

If cheating, stealing, corruption and bribery were sports we would win every medal going. Lol

[Jazba-e-Kashmir]

butterfly:

bro, you are right which is a harsh reality and sad to think about.

apart from that, the motivation and financial fundings for supporting the youth to be active and take part in sport activities is missing.

Majority of the youth who can afford sports activities goes to gym-centers.
The youth is more attracted to watch vulgar and perversion on Pakistani channels and watch indian movies; where everything is possible and no need of doing anything in real life when living in a fantasy world is far better.
The lack of patriotism to represent their own country, can you blame them; no - why? When the society, politicians and media isn't patriotic and loyal to their own country why should the youth be.

And the mindset is if you love Pakistan and want to do something for the country then that is a living joke because no Pakistani cares for another Pakistani, then why should they care for Pakistan.


Sorry to sound harsh, but the commitment and passion for Pakistan has declined extrememly much throughout the years.

Peace

[waz]

It's a simple formula that Pakistan's leaders do not want to know. It goes like this;

Investment in sport = success

Yes some Pakistan's lack of sporting success can be attributed to the youth not being interested and the crazy diet people have. The fact remains though in order to nurture talent you need the facilities and coaching, to encourage Pakistan's youth. I have seen for my own eyes the millions pumped in by the UK into sports. The result is for all to see, third in the medals table. China embarked on an ambitious sports program for all their athletes some 20 years ago. They have pumped in tens of billions, you only need to look how China scouts for young children from three years of age and puts them through tough training in state of art facilities. They now dominate the games. India recently hired a Cuban boxing coach and their team has made huge leaps.

Pakistan has great friends in the form of Turkey, Iran and obviously China. These guys have the expert coaching in sports like wrestling, boxing, weight lifting and yet we have never asked for their help. Ironically Pakistan's medals outside hockey have been in wrestling and boxing and we have a good talent base for that in Pakistan. A little investment would go such a long way.

But alas Pakistan's leaders just want to loot the country and the population is quite content to let them get on with it and blame the 18 hour electricity blackouts, rising prices, lack of basic amenities on the very same leaders, or just sit and sigh that it is God's will. Our own people have a defeatist mentality.

[kooldawghd2]

Jazba-e-Kashmir, on 08 August 2012 - 02:09 PM, said:

Majority of the youth who can afford sports activities goes to gym-centers.
The youth is more attracted to watch vulgar and perversion on Pakistani channels and watch indian movies; where everything is possible and no need of doing anything in real life when living in a fantasy world is far better.
The lack of patriotism to represent their own country, can you blame them; no - why? When the society, politicians and media isn't patriotic and loyal to their own country why should the youth be.

And the mindset is if you love Pakistan and want to do something for the country then that is a living joke because no Pakistani cares for another Pakistani, then why should they care for Pakistan.


Sorry to sound harsh, but the commitment and passion for Pakistan has declined extrememly much throughout the years.

Peace

Bro, are you saying that perverted stuff on TVs does not exist in the US or other western countries?? Why do they still have world class athletes with all of that and worse freely available. It all comes down to government and societal support for athletic activities, also there needs to be a greater emphasis on athletics in schools and universities that comes with greater investment in the respective athletic disciplines. That is the problem, not #### on tv and the internet all of which is more freely available in other countries.

[Simpleton]

My guess would be all the points above and lack of a scientific and efficient approach to nutrition, training, recuperation regimen for the atheletes; also a lack of discipline and a laizze fair approach in our atheletes as a reflection of the general populations' pervasive apathy when it comes to anything and everything except gossip.  In other words our atheletes are reflective of society in general, i.e., not having the proper mindset ,dedication to their job, or a sense of duty, and a sub-par work ethics (again a reflection of society at large).  In other words, just like every other person in the country, they and for that matter everyone involved does a half-assed job.  Plus I believe that like the vast majority of the population (Pakistani) the athletes also exhibit passive-aggressive tendencies to their trainers, and this pattern goes up every level; where any constructive critisism is taken as a personal affront and subsequently resisted or sabotaged consciously or unconsciously.

[sobank]

no facilities .............. simple answer.

this is why hockey lost and cricket got all the youth support. cheap and least amount of money required to play the game. Almost every other game requires lots of funds. If not in equipment to play with then nutrition and training. None of which a common person can afford.

[Krad]

Push to make kabbadi an olympic support. That should help. Why should it be only western sports in the olympics?

[blueazure]

Simpleton, on 08 August 2012 - 09:56 PM, said:

My guess would be all the points above and lack of a scientific and efficient approach to nutrition, training, recuperation regimen for the atheletes; also a lack of discipline and a laizze fair approach in our atheletes as a reflection of the general populations' pervasive apathy when it comes to anything and everything except gossip.  In other words our atheletes are reflective of society in general, i.e., not having the proper mindset ,dedication to their job, or a sense of duty, and a sub-par work ethics (again a reflection of society at large).  In other words, just like every other person in the country, they and for that matter everyone involved does a half-assed job.  Plus I believe that like the vast majority of the population (Pakistani) the athletes also exhibit passive-aggressive tendencies to their trainers, and this pattern goes up every level; where any constructive critisism is taken as a personal affront and subsequently resisted or sabotaged consciously or unconsciously.

agreed,competitive sports today has turned into a science .  an industry in its own. Pakistan might have talent but a poor jamaican usain bolt knows the science and applies the tech to get that extra sprint to win gold, we as a nation just dont have that motivation for glory...

have you seen 'moneyball '  ?  its the true story of how oakland athletic's GM billy bean ( brad pitt ) transformed a once losing team into a championship side through computer analysis of players with algorithms ..  a must watch i'd say

[nuclearpak]

My take on it is that when the sport was based on pure talent and natural ability, we were competing with a fair chance. But when sport got scientific, about 20 or so years back, the world has moved forward, while we have not. We do not employ any tech whatsoever in our sport. India employs a little bit of science, but not on par with the world. We do not employ any at all.

Olympic athletes were not considered professional alot of years back, but now they are regarded as professionals, because they put in the same effort as any 365 day footballer would put in.

Although i think we can put somebody in boxing and weightlifting at least, and get a SSG in marathon!

[blueazure]

SSG ppl do endurance marches,, i dont think they'll be of much help in a 200m sprint when you have ppl like usain bolt around

[nuclearpak]

I said marathon!!!

5000m or 10k m!

Then shooting perhaps is another option.

BTW, what is the criteria for selection in the olympics?

[Caesar]

Every dick and harry doesn't win top of top honours at Olympics. To be a top Sportman it requires dedication, hard work, pride, High tech body science and research into sports technologies. How can a country ruled by pathetic and disgraceful people achieve anything in sports???

[cheif No 1]

WE only like Cricket tese days , that may be the reason.

[Alp Arsalan Ghazi]

It seems that most of the competitions in the Olympics are those gay water sports

And its crazy that those little chinese people have more athletes than us

[Krad]

those "little chinese people"???

http://media.tumblr....hl851qdzie9.gif

I'd like you say that to Yao Ming....probably beat the sh1t outta you.

[Tipu-786]

on side  have you ever notice the sports minister or cricket hokey minister, they have no association with sports  not even played gulee danda....  and they are minister of sports  ,, what they know .....

[PakShah]

I understand your sentiments, but aren't there more important things to worry about.

We need to build our country, build our education system, economy, infrastructure, healthcare system, get Kashmir, Jammu, and Ladakh from Indian occupation.

These are just sports man.

[Jazba-e-Kashmir]

kooldawghd2, on 08 August 2012 - 06:55 PM, said:

Bro, are you saying that perverted stuff on TVs does not exist in the US or other western countries?? Why do they still have world class athletes with all of that and worse freely available. It all comes down to government and societal support for athletic activities, also there needs to be a greater emphasis on athletics in schools and universities that comes with greater investment in the respective athletic disciplines. That is the problem, not #### on tv and the internet all of which is more freely available in other countries.

Bro, no i was referring to laziness and doing nothing. Just watching television, playing and doing with the mobile phones and doing phoondiy : meaning flirting, scoring and going on dates.As the other brothers and members have gone in more details about the there needs funding and political support on all sports disciplines.Peace

[platinum786]

Firstly, Sprinting is to Jamaica what cricket is to Pakistan, they're obsessed with it, because they are excellent at it.

Now regarding the topic at hand, I think the most vital point is Lack of government funding for sport at all levels.

A lot of poor nations do well at the Olympics, but their athletes are sponsored, they have a good wage packet, they are not distracted, they have excellent facilities and opportunities in the future for coaching. Pakistan is lacking in all of this. The Professional athletes are struggling to pay bills, nobody has time for sport full time if it means putting you're life on hold.

Most of you guys will have gone to decent schools, probably private schools, i think most of you are from middle or upper class backgrounds (those born and raised in Pakistan, or living in Pakistan). I can guess this because you can afford a computer and the internet, and bijli. For a lot of Pakistan, there are not desks to sit on at school, let alone athletics or sports equipment. The whole concept of these other sports is Alien to a lot of our populous, because they can't afford it, nor have been introduced to it.

Sport Science comes in way down the line, we fail at funding sports at school and paying wages to professional sportsmen and women.

[Krad]

Quote

A lot of poor nations do well at the Olympics, but their athletes are sponsored, they have a good wage packet, they are not distracted, they have excellent facilities and opportunities in the future for coaching.

Sometimes genetics and environment is enough. Thats how kenya and ethiopia have punched well above their income and population when it comes to endurance races....even though their infrastructure is just as abysmal...even worse. This was especially true some 20-30 years back...when they started with nothing....since then they have invested in making sure this advantage is not negated....but they started out with nothing (and in the case of ethiopia a dreadful civil war combined with years of famine).

But when you have nothing going for you genetic and environment wise to carve out a niche....yes then you need good funding across the board and good training. So either the government has to step in, or it has to be an attractive career choice to begin with (corporate sponsorship and good publicity). If none of this exists...then you will only have a couple bright but sporadic blips and no consistency....and all the talent you might have in a decade....is lost if you are unable to keep people interested in that sport and have the champions impart knowledge, training and experience to the aspiring youth.

[Pikes]

Pakistan Army have quite alot of sports team like Basketball, swimming and Football etc.. I wonder why don't they partcipate in it as individuals or group represent the country

[fc1000]

Krad, on 09 August 2012 - 06:53 PM, said:

Sometimes genetics and environment is enough. Thats how kenya and ethiopia have punched well above their income and population when it comes to endurance races....even though their infrastructure is just as abysmal...even worse. This was especially true some 20-30 years back...when they started with nothing....since then they have invested in making sure this advantage is not negated....but they started out with nothing (and in the case of ethiopia a dreadful civil war combined with years of famine).

I think culture plays a part.

The vast majority of Kenya's brightest running stars were born and raised at high altitude. Running at higher elevations builds greater lung capacity, because athletes grow accustomed to the thinner air. Many of the finest Kenyan runners, for example, hail from the hilly region in surrounding Eldoret, about 7,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level.

We too have people living at high altitude in Northern areas and the international mountaineers also have commented on their endurance.The physical build of people in these areas is similar to the Kenyans. If altitude alone determined success in middle/long distance running, of course, then countries like Nepal, India and Pakistan etc would dominate.

Nations culture is also important. Also the government encouragement of sporting activities is also important. Our government officials are only interested in sports if it means free trips to international tournaments for the officials.

I am sure if people responsible for development of sport in Pakistan were really interested in finding middle/long distance runners they could easily find talent in the northern areas of Pakistan, but then again Pakistan Olympic committee member are probably too busy planning their next free trip abroad - they consider visiting poor areas of the country to find  sporting talent beneath their diginity.

[kooldawghd2]

Jazba-e-Kashmir, on 09 August 2012 - 10:33 AM, said:

Bro, no i was referring to laziness and doing nothing. Just watching television, playing and doing with the mobile phones and doing phoondiy : meaning flirting, scoring and going on dates.As the other brothers and members have gone in more details about the there needs funding and political support on all sports disciplines.Peace

Yeah i agree with you on that. Investing in sports is good for the country as well because it encourages healthy behavior which can directly lead to a more efficient and cost effective medical infrastructure. Encouraging sports also creates ancillary industries dedicated to sport science and can lead to more jobs. every little bit helps, sure water polo might look strange, but look at the stamina and endurance those guys need to have. I'm sure there are many talented individuals in Pakistan, we just need to support them and encourage them more.

[blueazure]

olympic science

http://www.askmen.co...nologies_2.html

[haroons222]

<p>I THINK ITS A CULTURAL PROBLEM AS WELL..............WE ARE LAZY PEOPLE AND SECONDLY THERE IS NO SCOPE,EXPOSURE, SPORTS ARE NOT ROMANTICIZED IN OUR MEDIA.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>AFGHANISTAN EVEN HAS A MEDDLE, UZBEKISTAN HAS LIKE 4,KAZAKISTAN HAS 10 IF Im not mistaken.Im sure we have equal if not more funding than these countries.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Many of those events at Olympics require cutting edge facilities, BUT many dont, and the only requirement is decent coaching AND LOTS AND LOTS OF HARD WORK.</p>
<p>Shooting(both pistol and rifle),archery,ping pong,badminton,martial arts,wrestling, etc. These are all sports we can definitely excel in IF WE PUSH OUR POONDI RIDDEN youth towards this. All our young people do is smoke, eat out,guys spending hours trying to look good, and complaining about their lives. Sports are never really stressed in school.Do the universities have a drive to enlist students in any sport?how about scholarship programs?</p>
<p>BUt ABOVE ALL, our society,and our media needs to tell our people that they need to excel in these sports to make a name for themselves.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Trust me, most of the events in the olympics dont require insane genetic combo,or nasa level research.We just need to put our minds to it.</p>

[haroons222]

what the....sorry about the codes people.