Sports rivalry with India

Akbar N ShadAugust 29, 20262 min readThe writer takes interest in social issues

In Pakistan, sports rivalry with India is generally viewed in the context of cricket. In recent years, most of the matches featuring these two cricketing nations have been one-sided affairs, and Pakistan has lost most of them.

People in Pakistan frequently blame the ICC for favouring India, and international players are often blamed for performing poorly against India in order to win IPL contracts.

No doubt, due to its market size and financial dominance, the BCCI often gets preferential treatment from the ICC, and this may have affected the results of these matches.

But Pakistan continues to perform poorly against India in almost all other international events, such as the Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.

India’s performance in the Olympics has not been very impressive. However, even there, it has performed far better than Pakistan, while leaving its western neighbour far behind in the medal tables of the Asian and Commonwealth Games.

The last Commonwealth Games were held in England in 2022, where India won 22 gold medals while Pakistan won just two gold medals. In the last Asian Games, held in China in 2023, India won 28 gold medals while Pakistan failed to win even a single gold medal.

The tally of silver and bronze medals shows no different picture.

These are no small differences. It is a huge gap. It shows that our neighbour has invested in sports in a much better way and has consequently performed well, leaving us far behind. These games were held at neutral locations where conditions were not favouring India, as we generally complain about in cricket.

India has won medals in multiple sports, showing a general improvement in performance. This is perhaps the most important lesson for Pakistan. Sporting excellence requires a system that identifies talent at an early age and provides young athletes with proper training, facilities and opportunities to compete. Schools, colleges and universities can play a crucial role in this process.

Success in so many sports just does not come by chance. To achieve this, the country needs to work hard and invest in society in general, especially in educational institutions, which serve as the nurseries of sport and where young talent is groomed and polished.

Instead of relying almost entirely on a few naturally gifted individuals, we need a system that continuously produces athletes in different disciplines. Athletics, swimming, wrestling, boxing, shooting and several other sports have enormous potential but remain neglected compared with cricket.

In Pakistan, especially in Karachi, young people mostly play cricket, and this has made us a nation of one sport. We should encourage our youngsters to take up other sports as well. This will enable us to perform better in other sports too.

There is also a need to improve sports facilities at the grassroots level. Many talented youngsters cannot pursue sports simply because they do not have access to proper grounds, equipment, coaching or financial support. A child with potential should not have to abandon sport because his family cannot afford the necessary expenses.

The performance in sports should not be taken lightly, as it is a barometer of a country’s overall investment in human reesting in human capital in general and in youth in particular

If Pakistan wants to compete with India not only in cricket but across the sporting field, it must develop a culture in which many sports, rather than just one, are encouraged and supported.