Pakistan will win at least two gold medals in wushu: Iftikhar 

Islamic Games

KARACHI: A senior official of Pakistan Wushu Federation (PWF) expects at least two gold medals from his fighters in the Fourth Islamic Games, pencilled in for May 12-22 in Azerbaijan capital Baku.

“I expect at least two gold medals,” the PWF president Malik Iftikhar told ‘The News’ in an interview from Islamabad.

Pakistani fighters are training at the Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad.

The players will practise on the new platform from Wednesday (today) which was laid on Tuesday. The platform, worth Rs6 million, has been imported from China with the assistance of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB).

In the Islamic Games, Pakistan will field around 200-member contingent in 14 disciplines.

The players used to practise on a cement platform which was a question mark over the role of the government keeping in view the high status of the national wushu players who have won medals on the trot in the previous three Asian Games.

“We have highly talented fighters in our squad. They have understood the new rules as we passed them through rigorous training. They will produce stunning performances in Baku,” Malik added.

It is pertinent to mention here that 70 percent of wushu rules were changed last year. The new rules became effective from March 17, 2017.

“In wushu we have a lot of experience. Barring Iran, which is a major power in the game, no Islamic nation can fight us in the sport. One of our players even defeated an Indian player, who happens to be the junior world champion, in an international event recently. So I can say confidently that our results in Baku will be impressive,” Malik claimed.

He added that he expected four of his players out of the six-member squad to win medals in the Islamic Games in which Pakistan will make its debut in the sport.

Wushu was not in the list of disciplines in the inaugural edition in Saudi Arabia in 2005. The next spectacle, scheduled in Iran, could not be conducted due to various reasons.

In the third edition, held in Indonesia in 2013, Pakistan was to make its debut in wushu but the players could not go due to the conflict between the PSB and the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA).

Malik said that the players had been training for eight hours a day. He added that the load would be reduced three to four days before the departure of the squad for Baku.

The average age of Pakistani wushu players for the Islamic Games is just 20 and Malik said that he had a strong back-up. “Three strong players each are behind the lot which we have picked for the Islamic Games,” the official said.

The Islamic Games will prepare Pakistan’s lot for the next year’s Asian Games which will be held in Indonesia.

The wushu competitions will start from May 18 in Baku. It is not yet known when the squad will leave for Azerbaijan.

Usually, for such competitions, the PSB sends squads just a day before the start of the respective discipline’s competitions.

Malik is serious to prepare the lot for the Asiad which in his views is more important. “We would like to rigorously train our players in Iran and China ahead of the Asian Games. I hope the government will get my point. We have players with high potential but we need financial support in order to have some standard training ahead of the Asian Games,” Malik said.

Pakistan squad: Zahoor Ahmed (-52kg, WAPDA), Abdul Khaliq (-56kg, WAPDA), Abdullah (-60kg, WAPDA), Ubaidullah (-65kg, Balochistan), Shah Zeb (-70kg, HEC), Maaz Khan (-75kg, KPT)  Officials: Amanullah Achakzai (manager), Malik Usman (coach).