LAHORE: Former National Javelin Coach, Fayyaz Hussain Bukhari, has requested the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) in a letter to nominate him as a coach for the Islamic Solidarity Games 2025, which will be held from November 7-21 in Riyadh.
Fayyaz Hussain Bukhari has been credited with shaping Pakistan’s top throwers, including Olympic Champion Arshad Nadeem.
The letter was addressed to the Director General of PSB, Yasir Pirzada. In the letter, Bukhari expressed disappointment over his exclusion and urged that his vital contributions to the country’s athletic achievements should be recognized.
Presently, Bukhari is coaching Asian Bronze medalist Yasir Sultan. In the letter, he emphasized the importance of an athlete’s personal coach’s presence during major international tournaments.
“I have been coaching Pakistan’s top javelin athletes under both PSB and the Pakistan Athletics Federation (AFP), and I was also officially appointed to train Yasir Sultan during the recent training camp for the Islamic Games,” Bukhari stated in his letter.
“Despite this, I have not been included in the contingent, which is both discouraging and unfair.”
The achievements of athlete Yasir Sultan have been brought to attention in this letter. There has been a notable improvement in Sultan’s international performance. Sultan has recently claimed a silver medal in the 2024 Asian Throwing Championship and a gold medal at the 2024 National Athletics Championship in Multan. Sultan’s work, coupled with his mentor’s effort, speaks for itself.
It merits mentioning that Fayyaz Hussain Bukhari is no longer the national Javelian coach and is reportedly banned for life by the Pakistan Athletics Federation for his involvement in unauthorized elections.