Bilal, you’re absolutely right. But this problem is certainly not isolated to Pakistan. In fact, it is a huge problem in the U.S. where one would think that the issue of performance enhancing drugs, etc is well known to even kids.
The vast majority of U.S. baseball atheletes (the good ones anyway) take drugs and most people believe that Lance Armstrong and co. used drugs pretty heavily. One of the biggest problems is that players and teams with finances can easily hire a whole team of people to come up with all kinds of undetectable synthetic stuff.
What really upsets me is the lack of understanding among players that when they represent Pakistan in international competitions, their actions say a lot about the entire country. Fans of their sport everywhere watch them and try to learn about the culture and the people they represent. Boxing has been a relatively neglected sport in Pakistan, much like football, but when news like this ocme sup, it further pushes away interest from the sports and the sportsmen.
This is intersting. Cannabis. I assume that is a ‘recreational’ drug and not a ‘performance enhancing’ one. As you say, the repeat offence is not just a case of cheating, its one of stupidity also.
Dear Readers,
While All Things Pakistan has remained alive and online, it has been dormant since June 11, 2011 - when, on the blog's 5th anniversary, we decided that it was time to move on. We have been heartened by your messages and the fact that a steady traffic has continued to enjoy the archived content on ATP.
While the blog itself will remain dormant, we are now beginning to add occasional (but infrequent) new material by the original authors of the blog, mostly to archive what they may now publish elsewhere. We will also be updating older posts to make sure that new readers who stumble onto this site still find it useful.
We hope you will continue to find ATP a useful venue to reflect upon and express your Pakistaniat. - Editors
Bilal, you’re absolutely right. But this problem is certainly not isolated to Pakistan. In fact, it is a huge problem in the U.S. where one would think that the issue of performance enhancing drugs, etc is well known to even kids.
The vast majority of U.S. baseball atheletes (the good ones anyway) take drugs and most people believe that Lance Armstrong and co. used drugs pretty heavily. One of the biggest problems is that players and teams with finances can easily hire a whole team of people to come up with all kinds of undetectable synthetic stuff.
This, coupled with the cricket stories, suggests the need for providing broader and deeper education on drugs use to athletes across all sports.
What really upsets me is the lack of understanding among players that when they represent Pakistan in international competitions, their actions say a lot about the entire country. Fans of their sport everywhere watch them and try to learn about the culture and the people they represent. Boxing has been a relatively neglected sport in Pakistan, much like football, but when news like this ocme sup, it further pushes away interest from the sports and the sportsmen.
Marijuana helps you punch better? Hahah…this is very funny….I would give them a medal just for being able to box after smoking marijuana!
This is intersting. Cannabis. I assume that is a ‘recreational’ drug and not a ‘performance enhancing’ one. As you say, the repeat offence is not just a case of cheating, its one of stupidity also.