Sports in Pakistan

Introduction:
Sport in Pakistan is a significant part
of Pakistani culture. Cricket is the most popular sport
in Pakistan, while field hockey, polo, and squash are also
popular. Traditional sports like kabaddi and other well-
known games are also played.
The Pakistan Sports Board was created in 1962 by
the Ministry of Education as a corporate body for the
purposes of promoting and developing uniform standards of
competition in sports in Pakistan comparable to the
standards prevailing internationally, and regulating and
controlling sports in Pakistan on a national basis.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, now has
control over the Pakistan Sports Board. The PSB controls all
39 sporting federations. The Pakistan Sports Board is
supported by the Pakistan Sports Trust, which assists hard
up players and associations so they can continue
participating in sports.
Importance of sports:
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, had a great
love for sport and fully realised the vital role it played in the
development of nations and inculcation of discipline among
the masses. In a meeting with the Organizing Committee of
the First Pakistan Olympic Games held at Karachi, Jinnah
told the first President of the Pakistan Olympic Association,
Ahmed E.H.:
Dedicate yourself to sports promotion, for when you and I
are gone, leadership will go into the hands of Youth, and
Youth is our wealth, a raw material, that must be hammered
into shape, into burnished steel to strive and smite in
defence – the defence of the integrity and solidarity of
Pakistan – the defence of the ideology of Pakistan.
Sports help control diabetes, manage weight, enhance
blood circulation, and manage levels of stress. Through
sports, there is a good balance of physical and mental
growth, which helps tone muscles and makes bones strong.
Sports inculcate in students the importance of a healthy
lifestyle.Sports also help us to interact with other people and
it also helps our body to be healthy.
Sports played in Pakistan:
1) Cricket:
Cricket is the most popular sport in Pakistan. Almost all
districts and neighbourhoods in Pakistan have a cricket
team and people start playing from a young age. Pakistan
has won international cricket events, which include
the 1992 Cricket World Cup, the 2009 ICC World
Twenty20 and the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy besides
finishing as runner-up in the 1999 Cricket World
Cup, 2007 ICC World Twenty20 and the 2022 T20 World
Cup. Pakistan also won the ACC Asia cup
in 2000 and 2012 and all three versions of the Austral-
Asia Cup.Pakistan's cricket teams take part in domestic
competitions such as the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy,
the Patron's Trophy, ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup, and the
ABN-AMRO Champions Trophy. Pakistan Cricket
Board also organize a franchise based T20 cricket league
known as the Pakistan Super League.
2) Football:
Pakistan is known as the manufacturer of the official FIFA
World Cup ball. Yet, as in most parts of South
Asia, football is not especially popular in Pakistan. As on
31 March 2023 Pakistan Men's team is ranked 195 as per
FIFA ranking. The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) is
the governing body in Pakistan.
The origin of football in Pakistan can be traced back to
mid-nineteenth century when the game was introduced
during the British Raj. Initially, games were played
between army teams. However, clubs were soon set up
around the country. One of the regional federations to
organise football on what is now Pakistan Territory was
the North-West India Football Association, in which clubs
from the city of Lahore and the surrounding region were
active. Kohat FC was the first club to be established in
1930, it became the first outstation team to win the North-
West India Football Championship 1937 in 1937
defeating Government College Lahore 1–0 in the
finals. The first female club to be established was Diya
W.F.C. in 2002.
3) Field Hockey:
The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) is the national
governing body of field hockey in Pakistan. The Pakistan
Hockey Federation Women Wing (PHFWW) is the official
organisation of women's field hockey in Pakistan.
The Pakistan national field hockey team has won 3 gold
medals at the Olympic Games, and lifted the Hockey
World Cup 4 times, being the country with most World
Cups till the present. It has also won the most Asian gold
medals, and is the only Asian team to have won the
prestigious Champions Trophy with 3 titles. It used to be
consistently ranked among the top teams in the world.
However, lately there has been a decline in results, with
the national team failing to qualify for both the 2016 and
2020 Olympics. The hockey team also failed to qualify for
2023 World cup.Also, because of the PHF's poor
economy, there was a span of two years without any
international matches netween 2019 and 2021. PHF
secretary lamented over lack of funding could even ban
Pakistan hockey team. As of December 2022 the team is
ranked 16th in the world.Notable players include World-
Record holder Waseem Ahmad, Mohammed Saqlain,
and Sohail Abbas.
4) Squash:
Squash is one of the most popular sports in Pakistan.
Pakistan had hosted a number of international
tournaments and has many professional training centers
around the country. Pakistan reached its peak in the
1980s and 1990s during the reigns of Jahangir
Khan and Jansher Khan.Both players won many laurels
for the country.Jansher Khan won the World Open eight
times and the British Open six times. He was ranked
number 1 in the world for six years. Jahangir Khan is
easily the greatest professional squash player of all time
with an unofficial record of having 555-game winning
streak. Between 1950 and 1997, Pakistan amassed over
30 British Open titles, 14 World Open titles and many
more PSA professional titles.
5) Polo:
Polo is believed to have originated in Persia, and
continues to be an important sport within the country with
several large annual competitions.
The annual Shandur Polo Festival at Shandur
Top in Chitral District is an international event attended by
enthusiasts from all over the world.The Shandur polo
ground at Shandur Pass is the world's highest, at
approximately 3,734 metres (12,251 ft). The governing
body of polo in Pakistan is the Pakistan Polo Association.
There are more than twenty-one polo clubs in
Pakistan] and over forty polo championships held all over
the country every year.Pakistan has qualified for the
preliminary rounds of the World Polo Championship three
times. Pakistan's Hissam Ali Haider is the highest capped
played in the Asian circuit. He has played for Cartier in
the St. Moritz Snow Polo World Cup and
the Commonwealth team in the Royal Salute Coronation
Cup, both of which were won by his team.