Manchester junket http://jang.com.pk/thenews/jul2002-daily/23-07-2002/oped/editorial.htm#3
A 78-member Pakistan contingent has reached Manchester to take part in the Commonwealth Games starting on Thursday. A party of this size should ideally promise a good medals haul, but unfortunately this is not the case. Almost 40 percent of the squad are officials and it is a matter of concern why does the government spend so much on sending so many ‘joy-riders’ to such events when the job could have been done by a handful of officials.
Pakistan’s chances of securing a medals lie only with the hockey team and boxers, and to some extent wrestlers. The hockey team has performed well in the just concluded five-match Test series in Spain, where they won three games and drew one. Pakistan’s three-man team of Asghar Ali Shah, Haider Ali and Shaukat Ali has the potential of even finishing on top in the boxing tournament. However, sending athletes and ‘managers’ in sports such as gymnastics, judo, cycling, athletics and swimming is a futile exercise as Pakistan stands absolutely no chance in even giving a creditable performance. Pakistani athletes are likely to meet the same fate in these disciplines as did our rowers in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games where they finished last in almost all the heats of the event. It’s just a waste of money on part of the government.
Instead of sending so many athletes in sports where Pakistan does not even stand an outside chance, it would have been better if a few more boxers or wrestlers were put on the Manchester-bound plane to increase the chance of winning a few more medals. If the only purpose of sending these teams abroad is to give the players international exposure, this could have easily been achieved by making them compete at regional-level competitions. A stage as big as the Commonwealth Games, where countries like Australia, Britain, Canada, and African and Carribean states are competing, will do our athletes no good