KARACHI: Pakistani squash legend Jahangir Khan says the country must do more to improve its image and stop the rest of the world thinking of Pakistanis as “terrorists”.
Pakistan, which celebrated its Independence Day yesterday, held the world titles in cricket, squash and hockey in 1994.
But lack of facilities, militancy and infighting among sports federations have caused a serious slump, with the country on the verge of a ban from the Olympics for flouting administrative rules.
The country has been a virtual no-go zone for top foreign sports teams since gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in 2009.
Khan, 50, said the government must do more to revitalise Pakistan’s once proud sporting identity.
“Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif must look into the situation in sports, which is fast getting out of control,” Khan said.
“Sports are the only identity Pakistanis have at the world level but now we are tagged as terrorists, because our sports and sportsmen have been pushed back.
“Our sports are destroyed by terrorism with no country wanting to visit us because of security fears,” said Khan. “On top of that, the mismanagement in our sports, with two factions in the Olympic association, have brought a bad name for the country.”
Khan won a record 10 British Open titles and six world titles, dominating squash in the 1980s and 90s along with his compatriot Jansher Khan, who won eight world and six British crowns. Since their departure, however, Pakistan has failed to produce any top-level squash players.
“Our squash has gone three levels down, hockey is nowhere and our cricket image is stained by players caught in match-fixing,” said Khan.
Four-time hockey world champions, Pakistan slumped to last in the World Cup held in India three years ago and a poor seventh in last year’s London Olympics.
“Pakistan should be recognised as a sporting nation and not as a terrorist country.”
MOSCOW: Former 100m world record-holder Donovan Bailey yesterday said that Turkey had a lot of work to do in resolving their doping problem but added they should be credited with tackling it head on.
The 45-year-old Canadian, who won 100m Olympic gold in 1996 and the world crown in 1995, knows the athletics set up in Turkey well, having raced there for the Istanbul-based Fenerbahce club in the early 1990s.
The banning last week of 31 Turkish athletes for doping offences have in the opinion of some International Olympic Committee (IOC) members placed a question mark over Istanbul’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games.
“When I was there, there was no evidence of widespread drug use,” said Bailey, who along with his Fenerbahce team-mates still holds the national 4x100m relay record. “But there was also no grass-roots or development programmes in places like Jamaica.
“My programme was from my coach and my Turkish team-mates trained from that programme. The athletes had no coaching, poor facilities, no expert nutritionists and definitely no therapy. “Now the government is investing properly in the grass-roots and elite level training, sourcing the best coaches and expert advice to my understanding.
“They are giving young Turkish athletes what they need to succeed in the right way -- the clean way,” Bailey said who added that based on the work being done, Istanbul’s candidacy did not deserve to be punished. AGENCIES
