ISLAMABAD (TNS) Sports journalism is the best and most difficult journalism in the world. I am proud that my passion for sports led me to sports journalism.
It was in April 1986 when the late Hameed Mufti editor assigned me the task of preparing a report on the National Bodybuilding Competition for the weekly magazine Anjam. Then in 1988, when the head office of Pakistan International Press Agency, Islamabad, was inaugurated by Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman, founder of Jang Group of Newspapers, I started my career as a sports reporter with PPA Islamabad/Sports Times International. Meanwhile, in 1990, the late Hafiz Abdul Khaliq selected me as the first sports reporter at NNI News Agency where I interviewed Imran Khan, the then winning captain of the Pakistan World Cup 1992 winning team, for the magazine Awaz International. In September 1992, with the launch of Daily News Islamabad, I joined as a sports reporter and later stayed at Daily Sahafat Islamabad. I worked as an editor sports/sports reporter in Daily Jang Rawalpindi. While working for Daily Jang Rawalpindi, I had the privilege of covering the Asian Games Guangzhou-Commonwealth Games New Delhi and Commonwealth Games Gold Coast 2018 Australia among other international competitions. At that time, I was a sports reporter for The Daily Mail International Islamabad. A sad incident occurred due to the derogatory words of England captain Mike Atherton during the match between England and South Africa in the 1996 Cricket World Cup. The England Test and County Board and English captain Mike Atherton were forced to apologize for the RISJA’s strong stance. Last year, a video of Pakistani fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi making racist remarks went viral across the world. The matter was resolved with instructions to be careful. RISJA Chairman Abdul Muhi Shah played a key role in this matter so that the career of the Pakistani fast bowler was not affected.
This year, World Sports Journalists Day was celebrated across Pakistan and many greetings were received from all over the world.
The Rawalpindi Islamabad Sports Journalists Association (RISJA) organized a special event on the occasion of World Sports Day, in which the commitment to promote responsible sports reporting in Pakistan was reiterated.
The event, held at a local hotel in Islamabad, was attended by senior sports journalists, athletes, officials of various sports federations including the Pakistan Olympic Association, Islamabad Olympic Association. The highlight of the event was a special message from the Pakistan Olympic Association to pay tribute to sports journalists. During the event, eminent senior journalists were paid tribute to their services while young journalists were encouraged to adopt high journalistic values. The event was presided over by President Abu Bakr Bin Talat, while Patron Abdul Muhi Shah and Chairman Shakeel Awan addressed the gathering. Remember that we all loved to play some sports in our childhood. Some kept it as a profession in the later period. But those who integrate both sports and journalism as their profession are called sports journalists. World Sports Journalists Day was celebrated to celebrate the foundation of AIPS and the professionals using sports as a medium for world peace. Therefore, every year July 2 is dedicated to all sports journalists around the world. The term sports journalist symbolizes covering and writing news related to sports and its events. This is the anniversary of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) founded in 1924. Its headquarters is located in Switzerland. Every year on July 2, Sports Journalists Day is celebrated all over the world. In 1994, AIPS introduced World Sports Journalists Day to celebrate the anniversary of its establishment.
Remember that sports journalism began as a staple of the aristocracy in the early 1800s and transitioned into the news business with a dedicated sports column. It later gained popularity among the middle and lower classes, leading to greater coverage of the content in publications. Different forms of sports journalism include game recap analysis, and investigative reporting on major developments in the field of sports.Sports are an integral part of human life that build the character and personality of a person. Sports bring joy to many people. Many of us find our lives incomplete without sports and that is why we should thank sports journalists around the world for what they are doing.
The aim is to recognize and encourage sports journalists to do better and dedicate a day to honor and respect all those sports writers who bring the world of sports closer to us. The real heroes of this world are sports journalists. Let’s honor and respect them on the occasion of World Sports Journalists Day.
\The success of our athletes is enhanced by our support and love which we can only share through sports journalists. Encourage sports journalists by helping them continue their impeccable work. Respect the art of sports journalists and stand up on World Sports Journalists Day and encourage sports journalists to excel in their work and set an example to the world. We live and see our dream through the voice of sports journalists and feel a part of the game
We have received messages from sports lovers on social media for Pakistani sports journalists/sports writers on the occasion of “World Sports Journalists Day”.
RISJA Patron-in-Chief Abdul Muhi Shah always tries to highlight Pakistani sports journalism while representing Pakistan all over the world for sports coverage in Olympic Games, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.
He was awarded the International Sports Journalist Award in 1993. Thanks to Abdul Muhi Shah’s hard work, today Rawalpindi Islamabad Sports Journalists Association RISJA is a registered organization.
In the past, big names like Farooq Mazhar, Sufi Rafique, M. Sharif Khan, Feroz Puri, Imran Naeem Ahmed, Makhdoom Babar, Farhana Ayaz Khan, Samina Aziz, Shahnaz Khan, Muhammad Shakeel Muhammad Imran. Aamir Mahmood, Naveed Akram, Amjad Ayub, Amanullah Khan. Farooq Ahmed, Kamila Hayat, Ferishte Geeti, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sufi Muhammad Anis, Asim Mustafa Awan, Khurram Shahzad, Zameer Ahmed and others have been associated.
Like the Chairman of RISJA, Pride of Performance KPK’s Amjad Aziz Malik was the only Pakistani journalist to be elected as the Secretary General of the Association of International Sports Press (AIPs) Asia.
Mr. Amjad Aziz Malik has truly taken Pakistani journalism to new heights. It was an honour for the entire Pakistani journalist community when in 2019, the Government of Nepal conferred Amjad Aziz Malik with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding services towards the promotion of sports journalism in Asia. Any Pakistani journalist receiving an award in Asia or globally is in itself an honor for the entire nation.
