The need for diversification of sports in Pakistan

Embracing the true essence of Diversification can have far reaching implications across the spectrum including sports. Adoption and implementation of the diversification approach can lead to a profound and positive impact on Pakistani sports in more ways than one.

Reliance on limited number of sports

For too long now, Pakistan has been relying on the three sports Cricket, Squash and Hockey. It was back in 1992 that we reached our apex point when Imran Khan’s squad did the country proud by winning the ICC ODI World Cup.

However, in the meanwhile, Pakistan’s fortunes in other major sports, including hockey and squash, were on the decline.

Olympic games are a good measure of a country’s international standing in sports. And here is the shocking downside.

From 1992 to 2024, Pakistan went without a single medal in any event, not even a bronze medal. Also, they never won a Gold in the single-players event until Nadeem Arshad the Javelin Thrower, came to their rescue by winning a gold medal for his country in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Worrying is the fact that it took Pakistan 77 years to win its first gold medal in the Individual Player’s category.

Presently Pakistan relies heavily on Cricket to earn its laurels in sports. There is a dire need to (i) consolidate on sports that we know best i.e. Hockey, Squash and Cricket (HSC) and (ii) more importantly, diversify into other sports.

Consolidation of

existing sports

Pakistan used to be counted as one of the top countries as far as domination of the HSC sports are concerned. In Hockey for instance Pakistan dominated the sports having won the Men’s Hockey World Cup four times and Olympic Gold Medals three times. However, these were yester years, with the last gold medal won in the 1994 World Cup. Similarly, Pakistan ruled the world of squash for decades, with an unmatched record of 30 British Open titles and 17 World Open titles, showcasing it’s complete dominance. However, like in hockey, the titles held in squash are history now. With Cricket it’s a different ball game. It’s not just a game, it’s a national passion, especially when it comes to matches against their old rivals India. Though Pakistan won their last ICC World Cup way back in 1992, they are still a major international force to reckon with, having won various prestigious international tournaments, and making their presence felt through the ICC ODI World Ranking as the # 1 ranked team in 2023, # 1 Test Ranking in 2016 and top slot ranking in T20 in 2018. Such a record showcases Pakistan’s versatility and competitiveness in the different formats of the game.

There have been some positive outcomes for squash and hockey though in the recent past, which rekindle the nation’s hope for a comeback of the bygone glory. Recent notable performance in squash includes Pakistan winning the 2025 Under-23 World Squash Championship by defeating Egypt in the finals. (Noor Zaman of Pakistan beat Kareen El Torkey of Egypt). Pakistan ladies have also been making waves in squash. In the same event where Noor won the laurels for Pakistan, our lady squash player Amna Fayyaz also made her mark by being declared as the Silver Medalist in the WSF 2025 Under-23 World Squash Championship. She’s indeed provided a beacon of hope, a silver lining to the cloud for gender inclusivity in Pakistan sports.

In hockey too, Pakistan has been making a comeback. They reached the finals of the prestigious 2024 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup which by itself was a great achievement and can be seen as a resurgence of hockey in Pakistan. This trend of revival was further re-enforced by the exemplary performance of Pakistan in the 2025 Asia Cup Under-18 Asia Cup tournament in China where they remained unbeaten until the finals, which they lost to Japan 3-0. However, their overall performance in the 2024 Sultan Azlan Shah tournament and again the 2025 Under-18 Asia Cup showcases the talent, prowess and resilience streak passed on from the seniors to their youngsters, traits which once were a hallmark of Pakistan’s supremacy and invincibility in Hockey at the highest international level.

With already well-established infrastructure including stadiums, training facilities and governing bodies for the three sports, a strong leadership and resilience is required by all stakeholders along with appropriate funding to upgrade facilities to re-kindle the spark by drawing inspiration from past achievements to serve as motivation to current and future generations.

Need for Diversification

Pakistan has been relying on its three national sports ie Cricket, hockey and squash for too long now. Whereas Cricket still remains the number 1 most popular sport, we have been unable to maintain the same level of supremacy in the other two. Furthermore, sports like Cricket only get limited international coverage due to the fewer Cricket playing countries as compared to football for instance.

Diversification beyond Cricket could create more international exposure and opportunities, boost overall sports related revenue and discover more athletic talent. Without taking away anything from Cricket, the fact remains that Cricket is more region specific whereas sports like football and tennis attract a more global appeal and viewership. The cricket followers are mainly based in countries like India, Pakistan, England and Australia. In a major ICC World Cup tournament for instance, Cricket attracts viewership of up to a billion viewers whereas a FIFA World Cup event can attract as much as over 3.5 billion viewers from a much broader sphere of population. Furthermore, from a commercial angle, football’s market is significantly higher and attracts bigger sponsorships. Overall, the fundings thus received from football tournaments can go into building up infrastructure, training facilities and towards overall betterment of the player.

Tennis is another game which enjoys popularity in Pakistan and is a good candidate when considering diversification. Players like Aisam-ul-Haq have enjoyed notable successes by reaching the U.S. Open Doubles and mixed doubles finals in 2010. His successes in the past can serve as an inspiration for youngsters to take up tennis. Though in terms of viewership tennis does not boast the same as in Cricket, it enjoys a much broader global reach, and tends to draw more diverse global audiences. Recent cooperation between two sports bodies i.e. the PCB and the PTF is a good initiative for promoting tennis and other sports in the country. In a meeting held on 9 July 2025, Chairman PCB held a meeting with PTF President Aisam-ul-Haq to discuss promotion of tennis across the country. Chairman PCB assured the PTF President of his full cooperation for promoting tennis including expanding the current infrastructure and construction of new tennis courts. According to the PTF President, “the country is brimming with talent not only in Cricket but also in tennis.”

There are other sports where Pakistani athletes have had past successes at international levels including Snooker, Boxing, wrestling, shooting, Indoor Rowing etc. which warrant special attention in terms of diversification.

The most recent amongst these has been the least expected of sports when Pakistan claimed a stunning victory over Maldives to win the Asian Youth Girls Netball Championship 2025. The team remained undefeated throughout the tournament, showcasing their exceptional talent.

In conclusion, it’s about time that we reduce our dependence on a single sport by launching a dynamic program of promoting multiple sports. Diversification in sports is the key to exploiting our existing youth talent and identifying and developing new ones. We need to invest in sports infrastructure, promote diversified sports at grassroot level, particularly in schools and at community level, provide training and coaching facilities and promote-public partnerships for funding sports development related programs.

The author, a senior consultant at the Burki Institute of Public Policy at Netsol, is a corporate member of the Institution of Engineering Technology, UK, and a chartered engineer, UK. He may be contacted at: rehan30@hotmail.com

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