Pakistan has abundant talent that needs to be properly harnessed, says Shabana Khattak
Despite lack of basic facilities and opportunities, the players of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have proved their mettle in the sporting arenas across the globe
By Ghani Ur Rehman
PESHAWAR: Shabana Khattak, a former international athlete, says that notwithstanding the need of basic sports facilities and patronage, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has produced players, who always turn heads due to their unmatched performance in the sports world.
Ms Khattak, who is serving as the director of sports of the Bacha Khan University, Charsadda, is one such gem of a sportswoman, who has sailed against the tide and always bagged medals along the way. She won accolades as the best student, the best sportswoman and a record-holder sprinter at a time when no women dared to take up sports as a life long profession. Women playing games for their educational institutions were looked down upon in the social milieu.
But for Shabana, there was no looking back. She had to fight off a lot of scorn heaped on women players. Two decades ago, she used to be the only female athlete training along side male counterparts for national and international events at the Qayyum Sports Complex in Peshawar. She did not give in to the unfavorable social conditions, which mostly hounded women’s talent in sports and all other fields alike. By virtue of sheer hard work, she proved the detractors wrong and always came out with flying colors. She has won more than 100 certificates in college, university and national level games.
Shabana Khattak has a long list of achievements to her credit. She has represented Pakistan in the 22nd World Universaide Games held at Daegu, South Korea, in 2003. Again, she represented Pakistan in the 17th Commonwealth Games held in Manchester, England, from July 25 through August 6, 2002. She bagged a Silver Medal in 60m hurdle race for Pakistan during the 3rd World Islamic Women Games held at Tehran, Iran, in 2001. Here are some of her many achievements in sports.
She won the first position in Pakistan SAF games open trials, in 2001 Abbottabad. She clinched the Gold Medal in the 13th National Athletic Championship held at Peshawar 2003. She created Pakistan’s new record in 100 M hurdles race in 2001, with 14.9 seconds. She grabbed the Bronze Medal in International Athletic Championship in Karachi in 2000.
She was the Best Athlete of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan Inter-varsity Games by winning 6 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze medal, scoring 64 individual points in the history of Pakistan in Lahore in 2003. She won the Silver Medal in the 11th National Athletic Championship held at Lahore 2000.
She remained the Best Athlete of the University of Peshawar for four consecutive years from 2000 to 2003, by winning a total 20 Gold Medals, 5 Silver Medals and 2 Bronze Medals. She remained Pakistan champion in 100m hurdle race and the record still holds.
Comparing the present day environs to when she was the only female sprinter of the province, Shabana Khattak said that a lot of development has taken place over the years and there is a great deal of improvement in the social attitude towards women’s sports.
“A sort of social stigma was attached to sportswomen. It was considered immoral and taboo for the women to play games in the stadiums, which in later years of their lives created hurdles for the women players,” she said, adding that even she had to change her getup to hide her identity and be able to participate in training sessions and games.
“There is no dearth of talent among the young generation, but it needs to be properly harnessed and fine-tuned at the school and college level, so that the youngsters can become an asset for the country in future,” she said.
True to her spirit and with the active support of the Bacha Khan University’s administration, she has successfully established a full-fledged sports directorate in the varsity to polish the students’ mental and physical faculties in curricular and extra-curricular activities.
Twenty years back, Ms Khattak said, sports facilities were next to nil and females were discouraged by their immediate social environment to take up sports as a hobby or participate in games at the inter-collegiate and university levels.
If it were for the social conditions, she could not have climbed the ladder to reach the zenith of sports career. She earned the honor at a time when women sports events in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were very rare and sports facilities for women were even rarer.
Under her patronage as the pioneer director of sports of the Bacha Khan University, Charsadda, the students won praise in the youth sports event organized in Islamabad under the Kamyab Jawan program in 2021. And, she is striving and putting in her best to groom the new talent at the university as well as provincial and national levels.
