Re: Commonwealth Games Melbourne 2006
Massacre at Melbourne
Masood Hasan
The 75 member Pakistan contingent to the Commonwealth Games crept back into Lahore on Monday night having achieved the great distinction of impressing no one and basically wasting a great deal of public money on a trip that had it not materialised might have been more bearable.
http://www.sulekha.com/news/nhc.aspx?cid=448030
The delegation comprising 45 men and 8 women, badly disguised as sportsmen-women achieved nothing except further lower our dismal performance record. The 21 free-loaders who went as ‘officials’ must have had a ball, shopped like bad and eaten to their heart’s content, but if the nation is looking for a blueprint for a better future in the 11 disciplines where we made monkeys of ourselves, it has a long wait ahead. As one newspaper put it, ‘Pakistan rot continues.’ It was not a reference to the government in Islamabad, which too would eminently qualify for the same headline, but to our continuing shoddy performance at international events like the CW Games in Melbourne. In all Pakistan managed to win five medals as compared to the seven they scraped in the CW Games at Manchester four years ago – so there is progress, but as always, in the reverse order.
This time out, we got a solitary gold and an equally solitary bronze both in weightlifting and three silvers in the same discipline, in the 85kg, 77kg and 54kg categories respectively. Not bad for a nation of 152 million. In hockey, the great national glory chapter of yesteryear, we were happy with silver and as a newspaper put it, ‘the drought of winning a gold in hockey continues.’ And yes, we won silver in shooting to complete the happy tally of five medals in all. Hallelujah.
Of the 16 disciplines that were on offer at Melbourne, we declined five and competed in the other 11, though competed is I think stretching the word a bit too far. In areas such as athletics, gymnastics, cycling, badminton, squash and table tennis, we were routed in style. We were simply out of league and our poor national ‘champions’ looked like vegetables compared to their counterparts. In the medals table, we were somewhere down there, wedged between Wales and Uganda on one side and Botswana and Lesotho on the other. Australia had 221 medals, England 110, Canada 86 and friends India 50.
Our overall performance was dismal and as the curtain fell on the glittering closing ceremony in Australia, the only redeeming factor was that our squad was already on its way back home, flight constraints not making it possible for the hapless squad to revel in the glorious show that was put up that night. Just as well. They would have looked just as much out of place watching the fireworks as they were during the time they spent losing just about every event they participated in. To consider that in 1958 when corruption and shoddy standards had not fully permeated our nation, we had actually led India three times over in the medal tally. Pakistan had finished with 10 medals – five gold, three silver and two bronze.
This time around, to our paltry five in all – three from weightlifting alone (not your favoured national sport by a long shot), India coolly walked off with 50 medals and finished fourth in the rankings. How’s that for inspiration in Islamabad where all enlightened and progressive things make their nests? India picked up a staggering 22 gold, 17 silver and 11 bronze medals. That’s a ten-time increase over us and should put things in the right perspective. All the hot air that we are so good at releasing on every issue under the sun may subside a bit, but that is a pipedream. There have been no statements from the president down expressing concern over this national calamity – the fashion here being that you only speak when you are in the winning mode and when there is failure, you quickly distance yourself from it.
As for India, our nearest neighbour and one we never tire of comparing ourselves with, well we should start changing tack because nothing else will gel. It took the brilliant Mr. Bush to throw some very cold water on our hot, flushed faces but only a few seem to have comprehended the message that was sharply delivered at the terse press conference, where the president of this nation of 152 million sought permission before he could speak.
In Australia, not only did India finish fourth, but it had also bagged the next Commonwealth Games in 2010 and boy did they do it in style! Led by the glamorous Ash Rai, Rani Mukerjee, Saif Ali Khan and 400 dancers trained and put through their paces, the Indians held 75,000 people spellbound for the 11-minute segment where they wooed everyone to come to New Delhi. And Melbourne responded. Months of selections, sustained choreography and hours and hours of hard practice produced a spectacle that not only stole the thunder of the glitzy closing ceremony but more importantly showed the world what India is all about.
Think about that and think about a squad of 75 losers including 21 over-ripe and stuffy officials checking in for the long haul home and you get the depressing picture. The Indians were dancing; we were hauling bags through scanners. Chalk and cheese? What about chalk and caviar?
And what about these heavy-duty officials who often number more than the participants? Why 21 for 54 non-performers? That’s a little over three to each official. What’s the sense of it all except to ensure a good time, all expenses paid for ex-servicemen who have done little in their other life to enjoy junkets in their retired phase? Go to any sports body where this lot and their civilian ilk are eating away like termites and see the track record literally of what they have done – it is a sight to put the fear of God in the most irreverent person.
These self styled gurus, past masters of track events and the like, are ignorant, petty, grovelling sycophants who thrive on red tape and practice the worst form of bureaucracy – or getting nothing done ever. They have no vision, no desire, no commitment, no objectives other than to lord it over, be snooty and wait for the next opportunity to have a good time at our expense. Given Pakistan’s rapid decline in all sporting events and no sign whatsoever of any recovery – watch where cricket is headed, it is time to disband all the athletic federations, bodies, ad hoc committees, the Olympic Joke Association and all its useless office bearers. Sack the whole ruddy lot and start afresh. No khakis, no sycophants, no spent cartridges. Surely without these leeches, we would still be better off. As for those who ensure that 50 per cent of this country’s population, represented by women, remain confined to their four walls, I have some novel ideas, which I might share at a later date. We have strapping young men and women who can be great athletes. All they need is the right people to train them - real professionals. Mr President your enlightened moderation is right here but it will remain buried in dung unless you are prepared to do a nationwide drastic surgery. If that is not going to happen, can we at least have a minute’s silence over the death of sports in Pakistan?
The writer is a Lahore-based columnist
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This isn’t called censorship… this is called phobia…