A tale of champions who set the trail ablaze

ISLAMABAD (APP) - Pakistan has produced a galaxy of stars in sports, who brought laurels and emerged triumphant in numerous top notch events.
Father of nation, Muhammad Ali Jinnah had a great love for sport, as he had said "Sports play vital role in the development of nations and inculcation of discipline among the masses."
"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, "Quaid-e-Azam told an Organising Committee of First Pakistan Olympic Games at Karachi."
In the early years, Pakistan had been held back due to the lack of funds. Many facilities were of substandard, but players like Roshan Khan (Squash), Hanif Muhammad and Fazal Mahmood (cricket) and Tanvir Dar (hockey), proved their worth with commitment and hard work.
However, this trend got changed with time as money corrupted everything and sports was not an exception. International tournaments are being regularly hosted in the country, and the nation now sends sportsmen abroad.
Cricket has emerged as the most popular sport, and notable cricketers from Pakistan include Javed Miandad, Imran Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar, Inzamamul Haq, Shahid Afridi and others. Shahid Afridi's fastest century and Saeed Anwar's highest runs in limited overs matches are still a world record.
Pakistan has won a lot of international cricket events, including the 1992 World Cup and the ICC World Twenty20-2009. Women's cricket is also very popular, with Kiran Balauch holding the current record of the highest score in a Test match with 242 runs.
Field hockey is the national sport of Pakistan, and country's men's team has won three gold medals at the Olympics and lifted the Hockey World Cup, Asia Cup and won the prestigious Champions Trophy. Notable players including Manzoor Sr, Sohail Abbas, Shahbaz Ahmed, Muhammad Saqlain, Waseem Ahmad, Hassan Sardar and two brothers Samiullah and Kalimullah.
In squash, Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan are considered legends of the sports and have won several world championships and other tournaments.
Pakistani players have won the squash World Open 17 times, and British Open 12 times, the highest by any nation. Some other notable players from Pakistan Hashim Khan and Qamar Zaman.
Tennis is also very popular and Pakistanis compete in various international events. Khawaja Saeed Hai was the first Pakistani to reach a Grand Slam, playing at Wimbledon, the US Open, and at the French Open where he made it to the third round. Haroon Rahim was successful winner of a number of ATP singles and doubles titles.
Pakistan Davis Cup team have previously reached the world group play-offs, with the help of Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, currently Pakistan's number one, and Aqeel Khan, the number two.
Some athletes have excelled in various events in the distant past including Ghulam Raziq, Mubarak Shah, John Permal, Muhammad Talib, Abid Hussain, Arshad Saleem, Ali Kamani and Nawaz, Muhammad Alam and Muhammad Younis. They are some of the athletes, who got prominence at either Asian or International levels, or both, winning golds for Pakistan.
In the early decades, Pakistani's held many Asian records including the Asian 100m and 200m records held by Abdul Khaliq. Pakistani female athletes have also represented the country at international level. Shabana Akhtar was the first Pakistani female athlete to participate in the Olympics.
In badminton, men players such as Irshad Ahmad and Saeed Malik, and women's players like Elsie Hunt and Nighat Sultana, have won a number of tournaments. Pakistan's golden era was between the 50s and 70s.
Snooker is one of the rising sports in Pakistan. Muhammed Yousuf was the 1994 world snooker champion and the 2006 World Masters champion.
Shaukat Ali, Pakistan's number one, and Asian Games gold medallist is also among the few, who won laurels.
Pakistan has seen success at amateur level boxing, despite lack of necessary equipment and facilities. The boxers have won medals at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, such as Quetta born Haider Ali, who won Gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games at Featherweight, and went on to become a professional boxer. Umar Khan is another name, who won different boxing titles.
Zia Mahmood is Pakistan's best player with a number of titles in bridge, while in Golf Taimur Hussain has been Pakistan's most successful golfer, as he won the 1998 Myanmar Open, becoming the first Pakistani to win on the Asian Tour.
In handball, Pakistan's team participated in World Cup of Beach Handball in 2008 and also won gold medal at 1st Beach Asian Games Bali, Indonesia.
In mountaineering, Nazir Sabir is Pakistan's most experienced mountaineer. He has climbed four of the five 8,000m peaks in Pakistan including a demanding new route on the world's second highest peak, K2. He is the first Pakistani, who climbed the Mount Everest. Similarly, shooting is a sport in which Irshad Ali with one silver and two bronzes in the Commonwealth Games was one of the most successful at international level. Other prominent shooters include Amin Karamat, Khurram Inam and Sultan Mehmood.
Pakistan has quintessential talent in sports, but the need is to harness their hidden abilities by facilitating them with jobs, training and modern facilities. Our players have proved their worth, and more attention to young talent would definitely help lighten up country's name in the comity of nations and bring more and more laurels.