ISLAMABAD; Lt General (R) Syed Arif Hasan became chief of Pakistan Olympic panel in 2004. Since then, Pakistan’s Sports Board (PSB) had been a barren platform. It never ever worked for promotion of games. It had nothing to celeberate as none of Pakistani players could win a gold medal by winning the game at any Olympic event.
From hockey to athletics and from wrestling to races and jovelin throw name any game there is not a single game in which Pakistani players won at any Olympic event.
Sadly, Pakistan always bagged humiliation and embarassment through every attempt its players made at any Olympic during Syed Arif Hasan’s reign .
The PSB track record clealy shows Pakistan Olympic panel was not worried about its failure at Olympic events. Its officials including Syed Arif Hasan probably have only one priority and that’s to take financial benefits home without delivering something gpod to Pakistan on sports front.
Syed Arif Hasan and other members probably never realised that bad performance in games demoralise the nation.
PSB has been serving as a money-making platform through lucrative salary packages and.privileges without doing its job.
Lt general (R) Syed Arif Hasan used his influence to keep hanging around his position. He also got amended PSB constition to avoid accountability at any stage.
As a result, the process of reforms became stagnant at PSB.
Syed Arif Hasan might have continued the game of serving personal interests at PSB over Pakistani players performance in international games, had Arshad Nadeem and Talha Talib, not exposed PSB and held it directly reaponsible of their failure at Tokyo Olympic.
Arshad Nadeem and Talha Talib had told to Pakistani nation that their failure in winning gold medals at Tokyo olympic goes to PSB as it neither arranged coaches not guided them during Tokyo event.
Taking notice of poor rather disappointing performance of Pakistani players at Tokyo olympic, the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) government hasfinally asked Syed Arif Hasan to step down as Pakistan Olympic panel chief.
The government should also fire all other PSB officials who were responsible for Pakistan’s failure at Tokyo olympic. It shoud replace these old faces with a professional team to train Pakistani players before sending them to compete at international sports events in the future.