Written by: Farheen Ahmed
Posted on: July 29, 2021 | 
| 中文
Najma Parveen, Bisma Khan, Mahoor Shahzad
The thirty second edition of the Summer Olympic Games is currently underway at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo. Having commenced on July 23, the games will continue until August 8, 2021. The Tokyo Olympics were originally scheduled for the summer of 2020, but were postponed due to concerns about the safety of athletes, visitors and all others involved, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Pakistan’s history of success at the Olympics revolves mostly around hockey. Athletes from Pakistan have won a total of ten medals at the Olympic Games, with eight of these coming from men’s field hockey. However, the field hockey team failed to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. This time, Pakistan’s contingent comprises 10 athletes participating in a range of other sports, an increase from the 7 athlete contingent sent to the previous Olympic Games held in Rio in 2016. The schedule for Team Pakistan can be found here. The following is an overview of the national athletes representing Pakistan at the Tokyo Olympics:
She is a sprinter from Faisalabad, who will participate in the women’s 200-meter race in the Olympics. Parveen previously competed in the same race at the 2016 Olympics, but could not qualify for the semifinals. She has been victorious at numerous other tournaments, including the 13th South Asian Games in Nepal in 2019 where she won 4 medals.
He belongs to the Khanewal Dsitrict in Punjab, and will contest in javelin throw. Despite a lack of training facilities back home, Nadeem showed talent and was taken on by WAPDA’s Sports Board. He created a record at the 2019 South Asian Games in Nepal for throwing the javelin at a distance of 86.29 meters, and is ranked sixth among the world’s best javelin throwers.
Arshad Nadeem competing in javelin throw at 2019 IAAF Athletics World Championship in Doha
He is competing in Judo in the men’s 100 kg division. Shah distinguished himself as the first Pakistani Judoka to qualify for the Olympic Games, when he appeared in the 2016 Rio Olympics. During his career, Shah has won several medals, and is ranked among the top 50 judokas in the world.
He is a 21-year-old weightlifting champion from Gujranwala. Talib finished fifth in the men’s 67 kg weightlifting event at the Tokyo Olympics. Despite having trained with limited equipment and coaching, he became the first weightlifter to represent Pakistan at the Olympics in 44 years. Talib started weightlifting from an early age, and has won medals at several international competitions.
Talha Talib at the 2020 Olympics
She is the first badminton player from Pakistan to qualify for the Olympics. Though she did not qualify for later stages at the Tokyo Olympics, she has represented Pakistan in many international competitions. Her love for badminton comes from her father, who was also a badminton player. Shahzad was selected for the Asian Olympic Project, which provides training opportunities and scholarships to gifted athletes.
She is a 19-year-old swimmer from Lahore, who is participating in the women’s 50-meter freestyle swimming event. Khan proved her mettle in the 2019 South Asian Games in Nepal, where she won a silver medal.
Hailing from Karachi, Haseeb Tariq represented Pakistan at the 100-meter freestyle swimming event. He finished sixth amongst eight swimmers in the Tokyo Games, and currently holds the national record for freestyle swimming at 53.34 seconds. In the past, he represented Pakistan in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Haseeb Tariq at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
21-year-old Gulfam Joseph from Jhelum, competed in the men’s 10-meter air pistol shooting event, where he finished ninth. Despite being relatively new to the sport, he was a silver medalist at the 2016 South Asian Games.
Born in Rajanpur, Khalil Akhtar is participating in the men’s 25-meter rapid fire pistol shooting event. He became the first Pakistani to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, after finishing sixth in the 2019 International Shooting Sport Federation Cup in Rio. Prior to this, Akhtar’s talent earned him an Olympic scholarship.
Karachi-born shooter, Ghulam Mustafa Bashir, is also appearing in the men’s 25-meter rapid fire pistol shooting event. Previously, he competed in the same event for the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he was also Pakistan’s flag-bearer in the opening ceremony. He is a navy marine, who has participated in numerous national and international sporting events.
Pakistan's contingent at the opening ceremony of Tokyo Olympics
While it is a matter of national pride how far these athletes have come, they have done so with little support and limited access to sporting facilities. Sports in Pakistan is in a dismal state. This is also evident from the decline of our hockey team, which used to be among the world’s best several decades ago. Misuse of funds, poor planning and a lack of commitment from government bodies can be cited as the reasons for the downfall of sports in Pakistan. For female athletes, there are even more barriers as they are discouraged from participating in sports and do not have equal access to training facilities. The government and sporting authorities need to actively address these issues so that talented athletes who make it to international stages are provided with a level playing field. If the state of sports in Pakistan is to be improved, the 2020 Olympics should serve as a wake-up call for government authorities to support and nurture talented athletes.
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