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THE Athletes Commission of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) primarily works on the development of athletes’ skills and their adaptation to sporting characteristics.
The Commission recently organised the first ‘National Athletes Forum’ in Lahore, the central idea of which was to educate athletes regarding sports injuries, remedial solutions, doping, etc and to provide guidance and knowledge to them for a better career.
Injuries are part of every athlete’s career. Right from the first day, when he or she steps onto the field till the time of retirement, they experience fitness problems, injuries or sometimes even career-threatening accidents that either force them take a break from the game or compel them to end their careers.
The other aspect of sports that could affect an athlete’s career and is a declared offence is the consumption of drugs and other substances to enhance or strengthen their performance, which is termed as doping.
Such acts are strictly prohibited in the Olympic movement and the watchdog body to check doping is the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) which works closely with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to eliminate doping from the world of sports.
All these aspects were highlighted in the National Athletes Forum which proved to be a big success.
The event opened with a virtual session with President International Olympic Committee (IOC) Mr. Thomas Bach who shared his views with the athletes and applauded the Athletes Commission and POA’s efforts to portray a positive and soft image to the world by organizing a wonderful event where complete Covid-19 SOPs were also observed.
Bach significantly highlighted that athletes are not just at the heart but are the heart of Olympic community. He admired the athletes for showing optimism even in challenging times by showing the world that they are united together.
Lt. Gen (R) Muzammil Hussain, Chairman WAPDA, who also graced the opening ceremony, added that the Athletes Forum is a great initiative by Pakistan Olympic Association to empower the young guns and will help them to be more competitive and learn to perform better.
Medical expert Dr. Asad Abbas Shah enlightened the athletes with his expertise on sports protocols and healthy nutrition and diet preferences to stay healthy and fit during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He later addressed the issue of sports injuries, both on and off the field, and the remedial measures to be taken by the athletes and medical associates.
Dr. Lubna Sibtain who is also mother of Olympian Rubab Raza, while interacting with the audience, shared her experience of grooming and upbringing of an Olympian and the efforts to eliminate doping cases from sports.
It may be mentioned here that during the past few years, two of our national athletes have tested positive for performance enhancing drugs including Mohammad Shah, the 110m hurdler who used a drug called ‘Stanozol while Noshee Parveen, the 100m hurdler, was found guilty of using Nandrolone just before Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Later, in the South Asian Games 2019, three more athletes were also penalised for doping.
Waqar Ahmed, who is the Chairman Anti-Doping Organization of Pakistan (ADOP), explained the result management process of players’ doping cases.
Ada Jafery, during her session, discussed protection from abuse and harassment in sports which the athletes often face and elaborated on what measure they need to take.
Ada further informed that POA has developed the reporting mechanism to prevent such scenarios in future and to secure the athletes from going through these situations.
Former athlete Sumera Sattar and current weightlifting champion Inam Butt also conducted informative sessions, briefing the athletes about their rights and how to exercise and safeguard them.
The participants also benefitted from an enriching lecture from special guest Muhammad Tayyab Ikram who is Member IOC Olympic Solidarity Commission and Chief Executive Officer Asian Hockey Federation.
Tayyab shared his vast experience of working with and for the Olympic movement for the rights of athletes.
He imparted useful knowledge about the athletes dealing with various situations and elaborated on several key areas about sports and sportspersons.
The POA top brass and the audience lauded Tayyab’s tremendous services for the protection of athlete’s rights globally.
Later, online quizzes were also conducted in order to observe and record the response of the participants and the results showed how fruitful the sessions had been.
President Pakistan Olympic Association Lt. Gen (R) Syed Arif Hasan expressed good wishes and gratitude to all the forum participants and assured to hold many more such events on regular basis to not only physically but mentally prepare the athletes for the challenges ahead.
Lt Gen (retd) Arif also congratulated the Athletes Commission and the speakers for organizing the forum and for their valuable contributions.
He also emphasized that in order to promote sports in this region, all the stakeholders need to work on one page to provide maximum opportunities to Pakistan’s athletes to excel, not just in sports but in life as well.