Table tennis in Pakistan struggles due to absence of Chinese coaches

The role of Chinese coaches has been extremely important in the betterment of table tennis in Pakistan. As long as the Chinese coaches were coaching in Pakistan, the country achieved a lot of success at the international stage. Now once again the absence of Chinese coaches is being felt strongly.

Speaking exclusively to Nukta, Arif Khan, an international coach, two-time South Asian Games gold medalist and three-time national champion, said that in 1976 China sent its best coaches to train Pakistani players.

“Due to the coaching of the Chinese coach, the Pakistani players performed brilliantly during that time. Pakistan due to Chinese coaching in table tennis. I also played against a big team like India and defeated Indian players many times in the South Asian Games,” Arif said.

Arif Khan won gold medal at the third South Asian Federation (SAF) Games which were held in Calcutta, India in 1987.Nukta

In the 1980s, there was a boom in table tennis in Pakistan when the Asian Table Tennis Championship was held in Islamabad. To host this event, then Secretary of Pakistan Table Tennis Federation SM Sabtain mortgaged his house and persuaded President General Zia-ul-Haq to organize the event.

Arif said that in the 1980s, the Pakistan team was included in the second division teams, which consisted of twelve to twenty-four rankings. It was at the global level but instead of getting better, we went downhill.

Arif said that we need people who work with heart, soul and mind for table tennis, as well as other sports, in Pakistan.

“Unfortunately, it now seems that sports are not among the priorities of our government,” he added.

Olympic success

On the other hand, female table tennis players are determined to bring Pakistan to bring glory to Pakistan and eye success in World Championships and Olympics.

National champions Hoor Fawad and Haiqa Hassan are busy training daily at Islamia Club under the supervision of Arif Khan. Both players achieved success at national and international level at a young age.

Haiqa Hassan (second from left) and Hoor Fawad (third from left) pose for a photo with Arif Khan (fourth from left).Nukta

Six years ago, Hoor Fawad at the age of nine won the Sindh Games gold medal. In a special conversation with Nukta, 15-year-old national champion Hoor said that she “wishes to be successful in mega events like Olympics and World Championship”.

“There are definitely difficulties but we have to work twice as hard because of this,” she added.

Meanwhile, in the national championship of 2022, Haiqa won four gold medals including singles, doubles, mixed doubles and team event.

Seventeen-year-old Haiqa says that she was completely ignorant of the game of table tennis till the age of nine and only knew a little about cricket because of its popularity in Pakistan. In the beginning, she played in inter-school matches and lost, but her father encouraged and guided her, after which she worked hard and was rewarded in the shape of medals.

“There are definitely difficulties in women's sports in Pakistan, but we have to prove ourselves by facing these challenges. Successful people in the world have always worked hard to achieve their goals and we aim to do the same,” she concluded.