Sports in any country is a celebrated sector of society. It brings pride and recognition to a country. Sports are symbolic of life. Life demands discipline, resilience, respect, compassion, teamwork, and character. Sports help develop those skills to apply on the playing field and in life. In any country, the state invests in their sports and the individuals playing them. Pakistan does just the opposite of it.
Pakistan chooses to forget its most talented and has a way of neglecting its sportsmen and sportswomen. Cricket and our men in green are a source of continuous pride for the country but there are other sports and players who too wear green with pride, and give it their all to bring us glory.
Our teams have gone to the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics but the players participating tell the same stories of negligence and their individual hard work. So what is that the players say? One: They need the state to pay attention to them. Two: Recognise the talent and show confidence in them when they are trying to develop their skills and polish themselves for the better. Three: Give them better training so that they can perform well and bring gold, silver, and bronze medals back home. Four: Treat them as equal and as important as they would treat a person playing cricket. Five: Don’t take credit for our individual wins as you have not invested in us. They ask the state to actually invest in them so that they can stand tall amongst the best.
What does the state do instead? The state has been in a habit of neglecting the raw and the talented, barring them from the opportunities which could have done wonders for the games, players, and the country. Yes, in recent times we see a prime minister congratulating a gold medalist but is congratulations enough? Don’t they deserve better training, better chances, and a better future? We can only hope that the state realises that mixed fortunes become the fate of many players in Pakistan because they were left out at some point. We can only hope that the state realises that every sport matters, every game matters, and every player is worth fighting for and that he and she deserves to get the best facilities. May our talented players keep making us proud.
