The gradual decline of badminton in Pakistan
The game of Badminton has always remained in a state of disarray in Pakistan because of the absence of a proper system and policies by the governing body, the Pakistan Badminton Federation. The PBF was formed in 1953 and Pakistan received affiliation with
the International Badminton Federation in the following year. The first Secretary General of the PBF was Sultan F. Hussain.
The first National Championship event was held in 1954 and Shamshad Ali won the first title in the men’s singles category. Among the female shuttlers, Talat Sultana, Elsie Hunt, and G. Rodrigues earned a good repute in the sport and won the titles in the
National Championships. The level of the game was excellent, as Pakistan participated in the Thomas Cup in 1956 and defeated Sri Lanka with a tremendous score of 9-0. In the Thomas Cup of 1960, that was organized by the PBF in Lahore, Pakistan once again proved
its supremacy over Sri Lanka by defeating them with the same margin of 9-0.
Badminton in Pakistan struggled during the 1960’s. In the 1970’s, Pakistan experienced the best period of Badminton under the patronage of Naqi Mohsin, who became the Secretary of the PBF. He dedicated himself to the building of awareness for the game and
his services cannot be denied in this regard. During his period the most renowned players were Salah-ud-Din, Javed Iqbal, Hassan Shaheed and the impressive Tariq Wadood, who was a world class player. In the category of men’s doubles, the pair of Javed Iqbal
and Hassan Shaheed delivered terrific performances in four international events in Europe and reached the quarter-final stages in three tournaments. Wadood was the most talented player in Pakistan, as he was sent to China for more comprehensive training under
the supervision of their coaches.
During this period, the PBF hired Chinese coaches several times to train the national shuttlers. In 1974 Pakistan defeated South Korea in the Asian Games held in Tehran and also managed to beat Japan. In the World Championships of 1978, Wadood, who was working
hard under the supervision of a Chinese coach, won the silver medal as he played the final in the men’s singles category. Pakistan occupied the 12th spot in the world badminton rankings during this period.
In the early 1980’s, the decline of Pakistan badminton started. Changes were being made by the authorities in the governing body of badminton in Pakistan. The bad policies of the new governing body put a very negative impact on the game and it swallowed
up more than two decades without producing even a single quality player. The ranking of Pakistan went down and it eventually disappeared from the table of the top fifty countries.
In the starting years of the last decade, Aamer Hayat Khan Rokhri was appointed as Secretary General of PBF and Naqi Mohsin was assigned with the responsibilities of Senior Vice President. Both of these badminton lovers started to rebuild the standard of
the game and provided opportunities to the national shuttlers to participate in the international tournaments. Pakistan gained the 30th position in the men’s doubles category. Even the junior players participated in many international events including,
the Junior World Championships and Asian Championships.
But again, as a result of some controversial reasons, the governing body has been changed and has intensely affected the standard of the game, as it is now on the verge of disaster. To over-come this impending downfall of badminton in Pakistan, some positive
measures are the need of the hour to regain the lost grandeur that was achieved 30 years ago.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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