LAHORE (Omar Ahmed): The 35th National Games have concluded. Flags waved, medals shone, and national pride filled the air. Yet beneath the celebration lies a difficult question: what happens next? Winning hundreds of medals may look impressive on paper, but how many of these athletes will go on to win for Pakistan on the world stage? How many will be signed by professional leagues, make a living through their sport like cricketers, and represent Pakistan internationally? For too many, the dream ends when the medals are packed away and the spotlight fades.
Our sports structure rewards participation but not excellence. For most athletes, the highest goal is not a world championship podium but a government job. Sport has quietly turned into a form of employment for the low-income bracket rather than a platform for national development.
The problem is not our talent. Pakistan has one of the largest youth populations in the world. The issue is governance and direction. Despite an annual sports budget exceeding 28 billion rupees, very little is spent on athlete development, coaching, or scouting. Billions go to maintenance, salaries, and politically motivated festivals that do little to produce champions.
We show dominance in national-level events but fail to translate that success internationally. We have medals but no markets, champions but no careers. Without leagues, sponsorships, or structured pathways, the system fails to sustain the very athletes it celebrates.
Sports can and must become more than entertainment. Around the world, sports are used as instruments of national unity, education, and rehabilitation. In Pakistan, it could be a powerful tool to counter radicalisation, drug abuse, and social division. Every young person who trains, competes, and learns discipline is one less drawn to extremism or despair.
Mixed Martial Arts stands as a rare and powerful example of what Pakistan can achieve when structure and passion align. In the past year alone, Pakistan’s MMA athletes have made history, winning medals in Lebanon and Georgia, and defeating India 10–0 in international competition. Across Asia and Europe, Pakistan’s fighters are feared and respected. Yet at home, MMA remains under-recognised and underfunded.
MMA represents what every sport in Pakistan could become, a global success story built on merit, professionalism, and pride. It is proof that when discipline meets opportunity, Pakistan shines.
With the right policy shift from the top, sports can become a billion-dollar industry. Establishing a Pakistan Sports Development Authority, ranking federations by performance, integrating school and college systems, and linking sports to media and sponsorship can turn the current cost centre into an engine of economic and social growth.
The medals of the National Games should not be the end of the story. They should be the beginning of reform. It is time to move beyond celebration and start building systems that produce athletes, not just employees; champions, not just medallists; and a nation that competes and wins on the world stage.
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