POA considers candidates for president

LAHORE – The Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) has been unable to live up to the expectation of the people due to innumerable reasons, but with elections close, and three candidates vying for the president slot, it appears that body has now opportunity to elect a leader capable of delivering, avoiding the temptation to use it simply as a facility for self-projection, self-interest and paid joy rides without any semblance of public interest or contribution towards the promotion of sports. As far as the candidates are concerned, Maj-Gen (r) Akram Sahi, is a former long jump champion and current president of the Athletics Federation of Pakistan, Qasim Zia, a hockey Olympian and current president of the Hockey Federation and Lt-Gen (r) Arif Hassan is the sitting president of POA for over eight years. Qasim Zia, has handled the affairs of the hockey federation and Maj-Gen (r) Akram Sahi has a successful history in the field of sports in Pakistan and has represented the nation at international level in Athletics.The Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) is a supreme sports organisation in Pakistan like any other National Olympic Committee (NOC) of any country around the world. Some of the reasons due to which the POA has been unable to deliver are stagnation, flawed vision and lack of commitment.