Local Games

Local Games

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.

Over recent years there has been an increase in sporting activity in Pakistan, with Pakistani sportsmen and women participating at many national and international events. Also, more international tournaments now take place in Pakistan. The size of the teams Pakistan sends, and the number of events they participate in, such as the Olympic Games, Asian Games, World Games, andCommonwealth Games has increased since the turn of the century.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, had a great love for sport and fully released 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 said to the first President of Pakistan Olympic Association Mr. 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."

The first National Games were held at Polo Ground, Karachi from 23 to 25 April 1948. Sportsmen and officials from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and all the integrated Provincial units of West Pakistan took part in these games. The total number of athletes was 140. No competitors were, however, invited from any foreign country. Competitions were held in basketball, boxing, cycling, track and field, volleyball, weightlifting, and wrestling.

Over the years, Pakistan has been held back due to the lack of funds placed in sports. Many facilities are of substandard, this has seen Pakistan fall behind other nations. In the early years, the young state would be able to compete, with many success, but during the late 1970s with the government not investing in sports, the country no longer could compete.

However, since the late 1990s, this trend has changed. Money is now being placed into sports, and many of the federations are now managed by people who are trying to push Pakistani sportsmen and women forward. International tournaments are now hosted in the country, and the nation now sends sportsmen and women to compete abroad. There have also been restructuring of national tournaments, and new facilities and equipment being provided. This has seen overall results improve. So in other words, you can say thatbaseball is a popular sport in Pakistan, because it is a sport.

On March 3, 2009, 12 militants with guns, grenades, and rocket launchers attacked a bus carrying the Sri Lanka national cricket team to a match at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium in Pakistan. Six Pakistani policemen escorting the team and two civilians were killed while seven Sri Lankan players and an assistant coach were injured. Since the terrorist attacks, no foreign cricket teams have competed in Pakistan. A month after the attack on the Sri Lankan team, the International Cricket Council relieved Pakistan of co-hosting duty for any 2011 Cricket World Cup games. Pakistan has tried to make the best of the situation by offering to host its "home" matches on neutral territory in the United Arab Emirates.

Pakistan Sports Board is Government Institution where as, Pakistan Olympic Association is working under the shelter of International Olympic Committee. Due to Government Interference Pakistan Olympic Association is very close to get ban from participation in Olympic games. Due to cold war, Pakistani sport is also suffering but, there is no hope to resolve this problem due to government level dictatorship.