Islamic Solidarity Games: Behind the Gold and Silver Lies a Deeper Truth — Pakistan Athletics Drifts Toward Discord, Not Unity
Who decided to sideline top javelin coach Syed Faiyaz Bukhari once again?
The 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh brought Pakistan two precious medals — a gold by Arshad Nadeem with an 83.05m throw and a silver by Yasir Sultan at 76.04m. The nation celebrated, social media echoed with praise, and the sporting community briefly felt a sense of pride.
But behind this moment of joy lies a story that cannot be ignored, because without telling it, the success feels incomplete. In the corridors of Pakistan’s athletics community, in coaching circles, and even within the federation itself, one question keeps surfacing: Who built these athletes, and where is that person now?
Everyone associated with athletics knows one truth — the real architect behind Arshad Nadeem and Yasir Sultan is Syed Faiyaz Bukhari, the man who trained them for eight long years. It was Bukhari who shaped their technique, corrected their biomechanics, guided their discipline, and stabilized their mindset. During COVID, when the system left athletes stranded, it was Bukhari who stood by Arshad. Yet today, when Pakistan stands on the podium in Riyadh, his name is absent.
And this absence is not accidental — it is the result of a deliberate, organized, and troubling chain of decisions.
Reliable sources confirm that the Pakistan Athletics Federation did nominate Bukhari as the official coach for the Islamic Games. But the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), due to internal rifts and personal biases, rejected the federation’s recommendation and instead pushed forward a name that shocked the athletics community — Sulaiman Butt.
A man who has no coaching record in javelin.
A man whom the federation’s own General Council had banned for life.
A man who was originally included only as a coordinator, never a coach.
Yet despite all of this, he travelled as “coach”.
The federation kept insisting Butt was never a certified or trained javelin coach, but the pressure came from elsewhere — from certain influential circles within the ministry, from political connections, and from personalities who have long interfered in Pakistan sports. Even the Pakistan Sports Board reportedly bowed to that pressure.
This interference violates not just ethical boundaries but also the Olympic Charter and World Athletics regulations, which strictly prohibit external manipulation of federation decisions.
Another uncomfortable truth must also be acknowledged:
Multiple insiders claim Arshad Nadeem himself supported the move in favor of Sulaiman Butt — not because of coaching expertise, but because of personal closeness, sponsorship networking, and off-track influence.
But should any athlete have the authority to pick his own coach for an international event?
No professional sports system in the world allows that, because it destroys merit, discipline, and fairness.
Arshad’s performance graph also reveals a painful pattern. After throwing 92.97m at the Paris Olympics, falling back to 83.05m is not a coincidence. At peak level, athletes need greater expertise, not weaker guidance. They need scientific programming, injury prevention systems, and precise technique work — not a “self-created coach” who may help with business deals but not world-class javelin mechanics.
Repeated injuries, inconsistent training, and a visible drop in performance point to one thing:
The coaching structure is flawed — and intentionally kept flawed.
The moral decline is even more troubling. Ignoring the man who invested eight years in an athlete’s rise is not just ungrateful — it is a sign of the deeper decay in our sports culture, where influence replaces merit, and where those who build champions are pushed aside once medals arrive.
Ironically, the former federation president and secretary — the same people who once helped Sulaiman Butt rise to positions in Punjab and even at the Asian level — turned against him only when Arshad drifted away from them and towards Butt after the Paris Olympics.
It is a classic Pakistani sports story:
When power shifts, loyalties shift with it.
The Punjabi saying fits perfectly:
“Khasray de ghar kaka jammay, te cham-cham ke maar ditta.”
Meaning, when something rises where it does not belong, it destroys everything around it.
This is exactly what is happening to Pakistan athletics.
What makes the situation even worse is that this time, the damage is not limited to one coach. It affects the entire javelin community, the credibility of Pakistan’s sports governance, and the country’s international reputation. At a moment when we could have built a national Javelin High Performance Centre and honored our real architect, the system instead rewarded the wrong people — and chaos won once again.
The way forward is clear:
– Coaches must unite under one professional association.
– Interference in federation authority must end.
– A national framework must define the athlete–coach relationship so that no one is replaced based on influence rather than merit.
– And above all, people like Faiyaz Bukhari must finally receive the recognition, respect, and institutional protection they deserve.
Because restoring justice for one coach is not about an individual —
it is about securing the future of Pakistan sports.
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By: Shahid Ul Haq
Sports Philanthropist, Sports Journalist, Former National Basketball Player, Fitness Expert,
International Sports Event Organizer, and CEO of SPOFIT YouTube Channel.
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