Rasheed, Sadaf Hoping Big

By Gul Hameed Bhatti

A Pakistan contingent comprising 21 players -- 16 of them are included in the hockey team alone -- and just over a dozen officials has left to feature at the 29th Olympic Games that start in the Peoples Republic of China capital of Beijing officially from August 8. Apart from the hockey players, two athletes, two swimmers and one rifle shooter, all having gained entry through the wild card system, will be seen in Pakistan's national colours at what is considered the world's biggest and greatest sporting event.

The two athletes are the 110 metres hurdler Abdul Rasheed and Sadaf Siddiqui, a female who excels in the 100 and 200 metres sprints. Another girl Kiran Khan, in addition to a male colleague Adil Baig, will appear in the swimming events and Siddiq Umar, a marksman, is Pakistan's entry in the shooting event.

In the 14 editions of the Olympic Games that Pakistan have taken part in -- starting from London 1948 -- among the many teams and individual athletes they have sent to various parts of the globe to represent the country, as many as sixty-three (63) of them were entered in the track and field events. Not one of them -- not even the very best among them -- brought home any medals though. That's nothing to be surprised about.

The reasons are many, some beyond the control of Pakistan's sports managing authorities. In recent years, a lack of adequate international exposure, the failure to hold athletics meets at home including players from abroad touching the highest standards in their art and almost negligible participation of the country's best athletes in competitions abroad have hurt Pakistan sport, but the biggest reason for the continuing decline in Pakistan's overall sports standards could even be the general apathetic attitude of the various boards and organisations that are supposed to run affairs in these spheres.

In the early days after Independence, Pakistan sports thrived solely because of the great interest shown by the nation's armed forces, who had a natural infrastructure at their disposal to serve the cause of physical activity. Although Pakistan's athletes failed to win any medals at the Olympic Games even at that time, they were quite a force to reckon with at the Commonwealth Games level and in the regional Asian Games. Unfortunately, with the advent of the 1965 war between Pakistan and India, sportsmen employed with the Pakistan Army, Navy and the Air Force had to report for national duty, to attend to more pressing matters and within a few years' time the forces were not able to give the kind of time to sports that they continuously required.

Before the wild card entry system was introduced at the Olympic Games, where sports persons were allowed to participate in the mega event in disciplines that they wouldn't otherwise qualify for only through invitation, Pakistan were able to send quite a big bunch of athletes to the various Olympiads. Seventeen men represented Pakistan at the Melbourne Olympic Games in 1956 after 16 had featured at the 1952 Games in Helsinki. Twelve athletes got to take part at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

Since Atlanta 1996, when the wild card system was introduced, the first Pakistan female athlete gained entry into the Olympic Games fraternity. The quite versatile Shabana Akhtar, who held Pakistan's 100 and 200 metres sprint records for almost two decades, took part in the long jump event in Atlanta. Her national long jump record of 6.31 metres stands unchallenged since 1995. In her only Olympic Games appearance, Shabana made a leap of just 5.80 metres and finished a poor 16th out of 17 jumpers in her qualifying round heat.

Middle distance runners Shazia Hidayat, at Sydney 2000, and Sumaira Zahoor at Athens 2004 have followed Shabana as Pakistan's other female representatives at the Olympic Games. Four years ago, the then 13 years old Rubab Raza made history by becoming the first Pakistani swimmer to attend an Olympiad, even though it was through a wild card and produced disastrous results, as anticipated.

Since Atlanta 1996, with the wild card system put into operation, Pakistan's representation in events such as athletics has been restricted to just two sports people and one of them has to be a female. But, even in 2008, perhaps apart from the hockey team no individual is expected to be in the run for the medals. Even hockey, with eight medals including three gold in the Olympic Games, hasn't earned any more victory stand finishes since the Barcelona Olympiad back in 1992.

ABDUL KHALIQ MAKES PAKISTAN PROUD AT MELBOURNE

Although he eventually failed to win a medal, it was the 23-year-old Pakistan Army sprinter Abdul Khaliq who really stood out for Pakistan at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. Unlike the 1952 Olympiad, where the Pakistani sportsmen still hadn't had much top-level international exposure, the 1956 team had been to several competitions in many parts of the world in the previous four years.

At the 1954 Asian Games in Manila, Philippines -- Pakistan's first -- the country's athletes won four gold and four silver medals. Abdul Khaliq was dubbed the 'fastest man in Asia' when he ran the 100 metres race in a new Asian record of 10.6 seconds. Mohammad Sharif Butt (21.9sec in 200 metres), Mirza Khan (54.1sec in 400 metres hurdles) and Mohammad Nawaz (210ft 10-1/8in in javelin throw) also won gold medals and created new Asian records. Mohammad Aslam (200 metres), Jalal Khan (javelin throw), Pakistan's 4x100 metres relay team and hammer thrower Mohammad Iqbal all won silver medals.

At the 1954 Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, Canada, Iqbal won gold in the hammer throw event while Nawaz and Jalal took silver and bronze, respectively, in the javelin throw. Sharif Butt lost in both his 100 yards dash and 220 yards dash semifinals while Khaliq too reached the 100 yards dash semifinals before bowing out.

But the athletes had worked very hard in different parts of the world since 1952. Most of them were militarymen, so they got to participate in the International Military Athletics Meet in Athens, Greece, in 1955. The first Indo-Pakistan Athletics Meet was held in New Delhi in March 1956, where the highlight was Khaliq's sprint double. He created new Asian records in both the 100 and 200 metres events.

Pakistan athletes then went to Berlin for the Military Championship in 1956 and later took part in several meets in England during the same year. Later, before going to the Olympiad, they also featured in an athletics meet in Teheran on the occasion of the Birthday Celebrations of the Shah of Iran.

Most Pakistan athletes disappointed in Melbourne, including the sprinter Mohammad Sharif Butt, who was featuring in his third consecutive Olympiad. It was first-timer Abdul Khaliq who stole the show, however.

In the 100 metres event, Khaliq was second out of five runners in his first round heat with a time of 10.8 seconds. In the second round heat, he ran in his best time of 10.5 seconds and was again second. In the semifinals, he was pushed to fourth place among six participants and lost the chance for a medal.

Sixty-eight competitors in the 200 metres were divided into twelve heats, one heat being a walkover. Khaliq produced the best first round time of 21.1 seconds. He again ran in the same time in the second round, breasting the tape ahead of the others, and with Michael Agostini (Trinidad) and Andy Stanfield (USA) all with a similar time headed the second round.

Khaliq, however, could not produce the same form in the first semifinal and was eliminated.

The strength of the USA trio was shown in the semifinals, and in the final all ran inside 21 seconds. Bobby Morrow, in clocking 20.6 second, broke Jesse Owens's (1936) and Stanfield's (1952) joint record of 20.7 seconds.

Owens was watching from the Press Stand and Stanfield equalled his record in running second. USA with the first three placings, repeated their Helsinki success and Morrow was the first American since Owens to win both the 100 and 200 metres.

Then, there was ace hurdler Ghulam Raziq. At both the Melbourne Games of 1956 and at Rome 1960, he reached the semifinals of the 110 metres hurdles. He too failed to pick up any medals, but at least continued to run every race with an improved personal timing. Also at Rome, Mohammad Iqbal made the final of the hammer throw event, but in the end finished only 12th out of 15.

Some of the country's biggest track and field stars proved to be extreme disappointments. One of them was javelin thrower Mohammad Nawaz, another was the long distance runner Mubarak Shah. At both Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976, the quite magnificent Mohammad Younus cut a sorry figure, although in 1976 he was mistakenly entered in the wrong event!

SADAF SIDDIQUI HOLDS TWO NATIONAL RECORDS

Pakistan Steel's Sadaf Siddiqui now holds Pakistan records in the 100 and 200 metres sprints. This she achieved only as recently as April this year, when she won gold medals in both events at the 40th National Athletics Championships staged in Lahore. Her performance there must surely have helped in her gaining a wild card for the Beijing Olympic Games.

Sadaf, who turns 23 on the 27th later this month, ran the 100 metres in 11.81 seconds and the 200 metres in 24.36 seconds. Shabana Akhtar's previous national records had stood for as many as seventeen years. Shabana's 100 metres mark was 11.95 seconds and her timing in 200 metres was 24.53 seconds. Both achievements were made at the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games in Colombo back in 1991.

Abdul Rasheed, the 29-year-old Khanewal-born who represents the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) sports squad, is the male athlete going to Beijing. At the National Athletics Championship in Lahore four months ago, he won the 110 metres hurdles with a time of 14.24 seconds.

He has, however, done better having run his event in 14.18 seconds in the 1st Islamic Solidarity Games in Makkah 2005, without winning a medal. He had picked up a gold medal though, at the SAF Games in Islamabad in 2004 with a time of 14.33 seconds.

At the South Asian Games in Colombo in 2006, Rasheed was restricted to a bronze medal, finishing the 110 metres hurdles race in 14.62 seconds. In the same event, Sadaf Siddiqui had won two bronze medals, in the 100 metres sprint and with the Pakistan team in the 4x100 metres relay.

Should Rasheed and Sadaf be hoping to gain any medals at the Olympic Games in Beijing? That's bsolutely impossible. The world record in the men's 110 metres hurdles is a very fast 12.87 seconds attained by Cuba's Dayron Robles this very year. Robles is tipped to clinch the gold medal at Beijing 2008.

Even the Olympic Games record in this event is 12.91 seconds, established by China's Liu Xiang at the Athens Olympiad in 2004.

Pakistan's best in the 110 metres hurdles was achieved by Ghulam Abbas with a time of 14.11 seconds at Islamabad in 1989. Ghulam Abbas had a barren run at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 after having won a gold medal at the Asian Games held in Beijing in 1990.

Sadaf Siddiqui finds herself in exalted company. The world and Olympic records set by the now deceased Florence Griffith-Joyner twenty years ago still stand. The colourful United States athlete holds the world 100 metres record with a time of 10.49 seconds that she gained at Indianapolis in the USA in July 1988.

Only two months later at Seoul 1988, she established new records at the Olympic Games. She ran the 100 metres in 10.62 seconds and the 200 metres in 21.34 seconds. The latter mark stands as the world record also.

PAKISTAN ATHLETICS HIT BY DOPING SCANDALS

Unfortunately, Pakistan athletics has been hit by at least three doping scandals lately. Although Rasheed and Sadaf had already been handed wild card entries for Beijing 2008, it was announced in mid-July that Noshee Parveen and Mohammad Shah had tested positive in mandatory dope tests and the enquiry commission of the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) had recommended a two-year ban on either sports person.

Noshee admitted that she had failed the dope test but stressed that she had merely used pain killers and anti allergy drugs.

She is said to have breached the IAAF rule 32.2 (a) after she tested positive for nandrolone (19-norandrosterone). Shah, a 110 metres hurdler, was also found positive for performance enhancing drug stanozolol (hydroxystanozolol).

"Both Shah and Noshee have tested positive for doping and the federation has formed an inquiry committee to decide on their future," AFP secretary Khalid Mahmood said. "We have also decided that all the top athletes will undergo a dope test before participating in any international event from now on."

This was the second time when a Pakistani athlete has been found positive in a doping case this year. In April, Mohammad Sajjad, also a 110 metres hurdler, was suspended for two years for using performance enhancing drugs.

The 26-year-old Noshee Parveen, who is employed with Pakistan Steel as is Sadaf, holds two Pakistan national women's athletics records. She ran the 100 metres hurdles in 14.7 seconds in Islamabad in 2003 to establish one. At Quetta in 2004, she made a triple jump leap of 11.39 metres to create the other record.

Mohammad Shah won the silver medal in 110 metres hurdles at the SAF Games in Islamabad in 2004. He had picked up a bronze with a time of 14.33 seconds at Kathmandu 1999.

At the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne 2006, Shah had run the 110 metres hurdles race in 14.64 seconds and Mohammad Sajjad had done so in 14.36 seconds in his heat in the same event. Sajjad took a silver medal at the South Asian Games in Colombo 2006, with a time of 14.26 seconds.

NEVER BEEN TO THE

OLYMPIC GAMES

Several Pakistan athletics record holders have never represented the country at the Olympic Games level. One such person is Pakistan Army's Gujranwala-born 24-year-old Afzal Baig. Afzal's stock has gone down a little lately, this being one of the reasons why he wasn't considered for a spot in the Beijing Olympiad-bound squad, but he is the proud owner of Pakistan's all time record in the 100 metres sprint.

At the 1st Islamic Solidarity Games held in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, in 2005, Afzal ran the 100 metres in 10.42 seconds and although he created the new Pakistan record he failed to win any medals. The country's previous record in this event had stood without being bettered for almost half a century!

At the first Indo-Pakistan Athletics Meet in New Delhi back in March 1956, Pakistan's outstanding Abdul Khaliq won the 100 metres gold with a time of 10.4 seconds, then also an Asian record. However, the time recorded was just 10.4 seconds and nothing further. Afzal Baig is said to have bettered Khaliq's mark which was only fractionally slower.

Quite a few other Pakistan athletics record holders too have failed to get a ticket to the Olympic Games. Mohammad Amin, who ran the 400 metres hurdles at the Asian Games in Hiroshima in 1994 in 49.90 seconds without getting any medal, never did. High jumper Ahmed Bilal was another. Ghufran Hussain, an above average shot putter, also never attended an Olympic Games.

Similarly, triple jumper Zafar Iqbal who last year established the Pakistan record with a leap of 16.45 metres, has missed the bus for Beijing. In March 2008, he created a new meet record of 16.42 metres at the South Asian Athletics Championships in Kochi, India.

The reason for Pakistani athletes not having been taken seriously enough is a fact that should be obvious from the comparative table accompanying this article. The difference in our national sports standards and those of the rest of the world are self-explanatory. Just look at the corresponding records in javelin throw: Zahid Ali Mahmood's best effort of 78.25 metres (or 256 ft 8-7/10in) falls more than 20 metres short of the world record attained by the Czech Republic's Jan Zelezny with a throw of 98.48 metres -- 323 feet 1-1/10 inches.

There's a huge difference of level in all other track and field events. However, Shazia Hidayat and Sumaira Zahoor were under no illusions when they participated in their respective Olympic Games.

'INVESTING IN WOMEN IS

A WASTE OF TIME'

Shazia Hidayat was not expected even to come close to setting any records or winning any medals when she competed at the Olympics Games at Sydney in 2000. But the 1500-metre runner was still a rarity because she was representing Pakistan, who infrequently send women to international sports events.

And the problems Hidayat faced, coming from a country where attention to women's sports is minimal, mirror the difficulties confronted by women athletes in many Asian countries.

"The basic problem we face is lack of facilities and lack of training," she said during a break at a track near the capital Islamabad.

The (then) 24-year-old student from Chichawatni, a small town in central Punjab province, has been a champion in Pakistan, but said the lack of training and proper coaching have made it difficult to compete outside the country.

"Now we are preparing for the Olympics but the training camp is just for two months in Islamabad. How can we fulfill our fitness requirements?" said Shazia, whose best time in the 1500 metres of four minutes 48.79 seconds was then far outside the winning time of 4:00.83 in Atlanta 1996.

Farrukh Naz, who was in charge of Shazia's training camp, said that in addition to a lack of resources and training facilities, there was a general apathy towards sports among women in countries like Pakistan. "The first preference is always towards the men's teams. They think investing in women is a waste of time and waste of funds," she said.

In Sydney, Shazia ran in an extremely poor time of 5:07.17 minutes and finished 14th and last in her heat. The surprise winner of the gold medal, Algeria's Nouria Merah-Benida won the event in a mere 4:05.10 minutes!

The only woman in Pakistan's Olympic track and field team for Athens 2004 ruled out targeting a medal and instead set herself the humble ambition of not finishing last.

"I know the star-studded line-up in the 1500 meters leaves me nowhere in the medal race but for me the main thing is that I don't come last," Sumaira Zahoor told a news agency.

"Shabana (Akhtar) and Shazia (Hidayat) were established athletes and I am just four years into athletics but I would try to do my best and gain experience which would help me in the 2006 Asian Games in Qatar," Sumaira said. "It's an honour to represent your country in the Olympics but I want this honour with grace so that I am not ashamed of myself," said the then 24-year-old. "Since our standard is far behind other countries, we can't qualify for the Olympics, so I am going there on invitation and would like to improve my personal record," said Sumaira.

Her first participation at the international level was at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, where she finished the 1500 metres race with five runners behind her. Sumaira won a silver medal in the SAF Games in Islamabad in March earlier in 2004. Her timing of 4:31.41 minutes in the 1500 metres still stands as a national record.

At the Athens Olympiad, Sumaira finished 15th and last in her event. Her time recorded was 4:49.33 minutes. Great Britain's outstanding runner Kelly Holmes, who won the gold medal, covered the distance in just 3:57.90 minutes.

Pakistan's two athletes at Beijing 2008 would thus be hoping against hope not to finish just among the also rans. Things really haven't changed for our nation in the last sixty years since its first participation at the Olympic Games.

PAKISTAN ATHLETES AGAINST THE WORLD'S BEST IN THE MAIN TRACK & FIELD EVENTS

PAKISTAN'S BEST WORLD RECORDS

100m Afzal Baig 10.42s Makkah 2005 Usain Bolt JAM 9.72s 2008

200m Maqsood Ahmed 21.15s Kathmandu 1999 Michael Johnson USA 19.32s 1996

400m Sagheer Ahmed 46.75s Islamabad 2004 Michael Johnson USA 43.18s 1999

800m Mohammad Siddiq 1:48.10m Hanover 1974 Wilson Kipketer DEN 1:14.11m 1977

1500m Mohammad Younus 3:41.4m Koln 1970 Hicham El Guerrouj MOR 3:26.0m 1999

5000m Mohammad Younus 14:08.4m Troisdorf 1977 Kenenisa Bekele ETH 2:37.35m 2004

10000m Mazhar Hussain 30.27.2m Troisdorf 1977 Kenenisa Bekele ETH 26:17.53m 2005

110m hur Ghulam Abbas 14.11s Islamabad 1989 Dayron Robles CUB 12.87s 2008

400m hur Mohammad Amin 49.90s Hiroshima 1994 Kevin Young USA 46.78s 1992

Marathon Naseer Ahmed 2:14.11h Rawalpindi 2003 Haile Gebrselassie ETH 2:04.26h 2007

High jump Ahmed Bilal 2.06m Islamabad 2001 Javier Sotomayor CUB 2.45m 1993

Pole vault Mohammad Ayub 4.90m Islamabad 2005 Sergei Bubka UKR 6.14m 1994

Long jump Mohammad Urfaq 7.79m Islamabad 1989 Mike Powell USA 8.95m 1991

Triple jump Zafar Iqbal 16.45m Karachi 2007 Jonathan Edwards UK 18.29m 1995

Shot put Ghufran Hussain 18.25m Karachi 2000 Randy Barnes USA 23.12m 1990

Discus throw Basharat Ali 55.10m Colombo 2006 Jurgen Schult GDR 74.08m 1986

Hammer throw Aqarab Abbas 68.20m Islamabad 1995 Yuriy Sedykh USSR 86.74m 1986

Javelin throw Zahid Ali Mahmood 78.25m Lahore 2001 Jan Zelezny CZE 98.48m 1996

4x100m relay National team 40.36s Islamabad 2004 USA team 37.40s 1993

4x400m relay National team 3:07.03m Islamabad 2004 USA team 2:54.20m 1998

Women's records: As Pakistan's female wild card entry at the Beijing Olympics 2008, Sadaf Siddiqui, is expected to run in one of the 100 or 200 metres sprints, here are the corresponding records for these two events:

100m Sadaf Siddiqui 11.81s Lahore 2008 Florence Griffith-Joyner USA 10.49s 1988

200m Sadaf Siddiqui 24.36s Lahore 2008 Florence Griffith-Joyner USA 21.34s 1988

Courtesy: The News Pakistan