PESHAWAR:The service of the Pakistan Sports Federation, especially the Sports Writers Association of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the promotion of sports in the country could not be denied, and holding training programmes for young journalists would help in exploring the hidden talent.
Squash legend and former world champion Qamar Zaman and former Sports Minister and Senior Vice President of Pakistan Olympic Association Syed Qaqil Shah expressed these views in the session of “Young Sports Reporters Training Programme” organized by the Pakistan Sports Writers Federation, in collaboration with Sports Writers Association, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The former sports minister said that he was grateful to the FSWF for providing an opportunity to young sports writers to enhance their knowledge and skills.
Addressing the young reporters on this occasion, he said that they should learn from their seniors and take full advantage of this opportunity. He said that due to the efforts of such journalists, the quality of sports reporting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was much better than in other provinces.
He said the services of the Sports Writers Association were not unknown to anyone, now it was the responsibility of young sports writers to work for the promotion of sports and always make a habit of giving positive criticism so that “the facts can be revealed as well as the defects found in the sports facilities can be rectified”.
“Do not try to do yellow journalism, it damages the reputation of the sport and the journalist himself,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, the legendary squash player Qamar Zaman also gave a lecture to the young reporters and said that no sports in any country could be promoted without sports writers, adding, “no matter how good a player is, he cannot be exposed to the world unless he has the best coverage in the media”.
He highlighted Pakistan specifically KP introduced big names in the field of sports, in the same way, sports writers also earned a name at the international level, the “living example of which is the Secretary General of Asia Sports Writers Association, Amjad Aziz Malik”.
He advised young sports journalists to go and report on their own and not to depend on others saying “unless you sit on the field and don’t know about the nuances of the game, you cannot understand a game like squash”.
Senior journalist Arshad Aziz Malik shared his international experiences with the budding writers and also taught them the tricks of reporting at big events with speed.
Former president of the association and senior sports journalist Ijaz Khan also informed the new reporters about his experiences and encouraged them to work continuously with enthusiasm.