AT a recent dinner party of expatriates, the topic of the 2024 Olympic Games came up. Someone remarked that it was matter of shame that a country of 240 million people could send only seven athletes to the global event. Many agreed, but no one thought of blaming the ones who deserve to be blamed for such a situation.

Our televangelists consider it a sort of Armageddon when a girl runs or swims in sportswear. They get outraged, focussing on perceived immodesty and ignoring her entire athletic performance. This attitude effectively alienates half of the country’s population from participating in sports.

But what about the other half? Why can the country not field a decent number of athletes from among them? First of all, people’s health and wellbeing are not matters of priority for the state. Sports facilities and infrastructure are virtually non-existent. In Canada, every child knows how to swim because every neighbourhood has community swimming pools where they can learn to swim for almost free or for a very nominal fee. This increases the chances of developing swimmers who can qualify for competitions. The same goes for other athletic disciplines.

In Pakistan, even in a modern city like Islamabad, there are only a few swimming pools, and those are usually out of the reach of the average person. Sports facilities are generally reserved for the elite, who typically see them as recre- ational rather than competitive.

Besides, in Pakistan, eating unhealthy food is the primary form of entertainment. How can you build stamina and agility when you have a habit of sitting for long hours, often with one leg over the other? Athleticism does not work that way.

Undoubtedly, certain individuals have made their names in games such as in squash or other high-performance sports, but that was due to their personal efforts, and not because of societal support. Pakistan used to have a slightly larger squad when its hockey team was active. Recently, we have repeatedly failed to even qualify for the Olympics. It is better to be content with what we have. Things do not work on their own; they require a lot of planning and management. These two elements do not happen to be our forte.

Bahadar Ali Khan
Toronto, Canada

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2024