By our correspondent 

ISLAMABAD: The 12-member Pakistan junior athletics team returned home without any medals after a disappointing performance at the South Asian Junior Athletics Championship (SAAC) held in India.

Pakistan ranked last among South Asian countries, failing to secure a single medal out of the 90 available medals.

Host India dominated the competition, winning the championship with 48 medals, including 21 gold, 22 silver, and 5 bronze. Sri Lanka followed in second place, securing 9 gold, 9 silver, and 17 bronze medals. Bangladesh finished third with three bronze medals, while Maldives and Nepal earned 2 and 1 medals, respectively. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s athletes were unable to reach the podium.

Pakistani athletes struggled across various events, with none advancing to the finals. In the men’s 800-meter race, Muhammad Shahid finished last with a time of 2:10.17. Aiza Ahmed, competing in the women’s high jump, failed to clear the opening height of 1.50 meters, resulting in her early elimination. In the men’s 100-meter heats, Ammar Ibrahim Afridi came in last in his race, clocking 12.69 seconds, while Muhammad Husnain placed fourth in his heat with a time of 11.32 seconds.

Concerns were raised regarding favouritism in the selection process for athletes, coaches, and official staff for the trip to India. Figures like Iqbal Akhtar, Miss Abida and Saif Afridi were appointed as coaches and team officials despite reportedly lacking the necessary qualifications.

Notably, experienced coaches such as Asghar Gul, Rafiq Ahmed, and Seemi Zaidi, who had trained the junior athletes at the Islamabad athletics training camp, were excluded from the team for the championship. The camp was organized with the support of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB).

Additionally, the PSB allocated a significant budget of Rs. 93 million to the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) over the past two years. However, PSB officials did not scrutinize the selection criteria for the team and staff, even after implementing new requirements for sports federations seeking NOCs (No Objection Certificates) for international events.