Why is the country’s top eventer Usman Khan not owned?

By Alam Zeb Safi
LAHORE: We own foreign-based footballers, foreign-based boxers, swimmers, netball players and judokas but we do not own France-based eventer Usman Khan. This is a serious question mark for the authorities. Why do we not back him despite the fact that he is one of the finest athletes Pakistan has ever produced in equestrian sports?
The Paris-based eventer has qualified twice for the Olympics and has recently blasted his way into the Asian Games for the fourth time. Yet nobody in the sports-governing bodies acknowledges this achievement. He has never been sent to the Asian Games. Who is responsible for this? The Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif should take note.
Despite all his achievements Usman has never been awarded an IOC scholarship and those responsible must answer why. He truly deserved the IOC scholarship for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics which could have eased his financial burden for the next two years.
The attitude of his federation (EFP) also raises serious concerns. Federations compete aggressively to secure IOC scholarships for their athletes yet the EFP remains silent. This is unacceptable and tantamount to butchering an athlete’s career. If he does not qualify for certain privileges he should at least be told why. Quietly subjecting a promising athlete to such injustice is intolerable.
Athletes are national assets. It is because of them that national sports bodies exist, the same bodies, whose officials enjoy foreign tours and benefits. It should not matter whether an athlete is foreign-based or home-based. The rule is simple: the best must be owned.
Few truly know how Usman has earned such honour in eventing. He has spent millions of dollars on his training, purchasing horses and maintaining them. It is not an easy task. He earns hard-earned money through his job and spends it on his preparation.
If he is making such sacrifices, why do we not support him? If we failed to help him secure an IOC scholarship yet again, the state must provide him direct financial support as he prepares to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. He is highly expected to qualify but he needs support. If we can spend enormous sums on unnecessary, low-level competitions, why can’t we support elite athletes capable of representing Pakistan at the highest level?
It is ridiculous.
Our sports-governing bodies are engrossed in politics and indifferent to athletes’ welfare. They do not consider themselves accountable, even as Pakistan’s sports standards have plunged to rock bottom.
Recently, the country’s premier boxer Mohammad Waseem defended his WBA bantamweight gold title in Lahore, yet no one announced any cash award for him not even Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, who witnessed the event. Punjab’s government spends huge amounts on insignificant sports undertakings but cannot reward a boxer who has raised Pakistan’s flag globally for two decades.
Our weightlifters Nooh Dastgir Butt and Olympian Talha Talib are also being mercilessly wasted and nobody cares.
The way sports is being run in this country is completely absurd. There is no plan for elite athlete development and if anyone claims there is a system, I can prove otherwise. Do not waste the time, careers and lives of premier athletes. Give them honour, financial assistance and respect. We sit in big sports secretariats but all we do is politics, knowing fully well that our approach is wrong. Yet we make no effort to correct ourselves, wasting the precious time of athletes.
That is why several top athletes have disappeared on foreign soil in recent years and more will follow if things continue like this. It is time to do justice to Pakistan’s top athletes, including Usman Khan. Otherwise, God will never pardon us. This is brutality.