LAHORE: Pakistan’s recent stint in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou was pathetic. The country featured in 24 disciplines and won just one silver medal and two bronze.
Pakistan’s premier wrestler and two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Mohammad Inam, who did not feature in the Asian Games, suggested to the authorities on Monday that they train only the country’s top lot for four years.
“We should pick 25 to 30 top athletes in individual sports disciplines in which we can win medals. The individual disciplines where we should invest are wrestling, weightlifting, taekwondo, athletics, shooting and squash,” Inam told The News in a detailed chat from his hometown Gujranwala.
“You should pick top athletes in these disciplines and form an elite pool. This lot should be given ten to 12 international events every year and they should be trained on foreign soil properly and on regular basis. If we invest in them for four years then I am sure the entire lot will give you medals in the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and other major events and they all will also easily qualify for the Olympics,” Inam said.
He said that they should learn from the recent Asian Games debacle.
“I was expecting such a result but we can address our downfall with a solid strategy,” said Inam, who is also a major name in the beach wrestling world with a handful of titles to his credit.
“In individual sports disciplines you will need quality training and it can only be done abroad. You need to train with the world’s top level athletes and this is the only way to improve our sports standard. Otherwise we will continue going at the same pace,” Inam said.
“Look, I am a wrestler and if you see our wrestlers’ opponents’ status during the Asian Games so they were world’s top wrestlers and they get top level training. With whom did we train? We had no training partners. This will not work. Unless you train these boys abroad for months they will not improve,” Inam stressed.
In the Hangzhou Asian Games, Pakistan fielded four wrestlers and all fell at the first hurdles. Inam said that due to financial matters the authorities should not waste money on holding camps, carrying so many players which will just be wastage of time, adding they should focus on quality.
“Look, you hold training camp of 40 boys in a discipline and spend a lot on them. Why don’t you send top three or four boys for extensive foreign training? It will help you pick medals at the major stages,” Inam said.
Alam Zeb Safi Alam Zeb Safi is a senior reporter for The News
