Rift between govt, POA may deprive Pakistan of SAG hosting rights, fears ex-athlete

• The ongoing rift between the government and POA may deprive Pakistan of South Asian Games’ (SAG) hosting rights.
• Mohammad Talib urged both the government and POA to work for the promotion of sports in the country.
• “They must reconcile with each other as it may hurt us again and the South Asian Games may slip off our hands,” he says.

KARACHI: Former international athlete and Pakistan hockey team’s former trainer Mohammad Talib has expressed fears that the ongoing rift between the government and Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) may deprive Pakistan of South Asian Games (SAG) hosting rights.

Talking to The News, Mohammad Talib urged both the government and Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) to set aside their differences and work for the promotion of sports in the country.

“The dispute which has emerged as a result of the news conference of government functionaries who have asked the POA chief Lt Gen (retd) Arif Hasan to step down will only damage sports in the country,” he added.

“Look, it will be of no use. You are going to host the South Asian Games and for that you are to make solid preparations. If you have initiated a clash like this it could deprive Pakistan of the right to host the South Asian Games,” Talib pointed out.

“I remember Pakistan was allotted the 1978 Asian Games. In 1976 a sports festival was held in Pindora, Rawalpindi, in which 10,000 kids had appeared for drills. I was there. Zakir Hussain Syed was Director General of Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). Saudi Arabia’s royal family members was invited to witness the ceremony,” Talib recalled.

“Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had to come for closing to distribute prizes but he did not come when he knew that his party’s two major actors, Punjab Chief Minister Miraj Khalid and Federal Sports Minister Abdul Sattar Pirzada, had developed differences over selection of host city for the 1978 Asian Games. Bhutto felt that it would create a rift in his party and so Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) secretly informed the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) that Pakistan would not be able to host the Games and so the games were allotted to Thailand,” Talib said.

“Miraj Khalid wanted Pakistan to host the Games in Lahore while Pirzada wanted to host the spectacle in Karachi. Pirzada was justified in his claims because Karachi was the most suitable city for hosting those Games because it had much better facilities,” Talib recalled.

He said that a similar situation might be created by the differences between the government and POA.

“They must reconcile with each other as it may hurt us again and the South Asian Games may slip off our hands,” he said.

Talib said that the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) should urgently insert a clause in its reward policy that coaches would also be handed cash awards in case their athletes won at an international event.

“Coaches and trainers also deserve cash awards. These people develop athletes and they should not be forgotten. In the developed world coaches earn handsome amounts. They get paid according to their seniority. We should also credit coaches and trainers. There must be a specific policy for them,” Talib said.

“Look, I was the trainer of the Pakistan hockey team which won gold in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The players upon return were allotted plots and cash incentives but I was not given a single penny despite the fact that Pakistan team had been declared the fittest side of those Olympics,” Talib recalled.

“The same thing had happened when Pakistan won gold in the 1982 World Cup and 1982 Asian Games,” Talib said.

“During my stint as the trainer, Pakistan won five golds in boxing in Beijing Asian Games, eight in 1992 Sri Lanka South Asian Games and ten in 2004 South Asian Games in Islamabad but my services were not acknowledged,” he said.