‘National Games ideal opportunity for SAG preparation’

KARACHI: Former Olympian Qamar Zia has said that the coming few months are highly important for the revival of sports in Pakistan.

“National Games and National Hockey Championship are going to be held before the South Asian Games. The federal government, POA, PSB, and federations must make joint efforts to prepare for the Games,” he said while talking to ‘The News’ on Friday.

SAG are to be held in Nepal from December 1 to 10. National Games will be held in KP in October and November. The 65th National Hockey Championship will be held in Karachi in June and July.

“It’s not only hockey. The other sports federations are also facing lack of funds. PSB doesn’t have funds, too, which is resulting in delay in organising the training camps,” Zia said. He said that SAG should be used as a launching pad for the revival of sports in the country as Pakistan was fast declining in all sports.

He said PHF must ensure that the sole criterion for selection of the team for SAG was performance in the National Championship. A national level athlete said that as the PSB had not organised the training camps for SAG, the federations should prepare their players for National Games with the help of POA, so that the form and fitness of the players could be maintained for SAG.

Ali Akbar Shah, former associate secretary of Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) and former Olympian referee, said that boxing was the epitome of Pakistan in sports as far as the number of medals was concerned. “But now we are lagging behind for various reasons,” he said.

He said the country needed someone like late Professor Anwer Chaudhery, the former president of AIBA and Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF).

“We are facing lack of funds for the preparation of our players. The National Games are an opportunity for us to polish our players keeping in mind SAG. POA and federations should jointly work hard for the training and coaching of players,” he added. Shah said that the task was hard but not impossible as there were experienced and trained coaches available in all disciplines. “What we need is selection of players on merit,” he added.