Pakistan hiring Korean taekwondo coach

KARACHI: Pakistan is about to hire the services of taekwondo coach Sung Jae Lee of Korea for an initial period of one year.Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has forwarded the case of the Korean to the ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) for final sanction.

A senior official of Pakistan Taekwondo Federation (PTF) said that within ten to 15 days the situation would become clear. “The case has been forwarded to the IPC ministry and I hope the ministry will sanction it in ten to 15 days,” PTF president Lt Col Waseem Ahmed told ‘The News’ on Thursday.

He said the step had been taken after getting approval from the general council on May 8. “We had contacted the Korean embassy and it had in turn contacted Lee. It’s actually a deal among the PTF, Korean embassy and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB),” Waseem said.

He said in the contract there is a provision that he will pass through a three-month probation period during which his performance will be closely monitored. “If he satisfied us in that time-frame he would serve us for the whole year. If he failed we would reserve the right to dissolve his contract,” the official said.

“He is 30 years old and is active. He already has experience of coaching in a few countries,” Waseem said. He said this would be after six and a half years that Pakistan would get the services of a foreign coach.

He said that two male and one female coach would work with him.

Waseem said that he would be Pakistan’s coach for the Asian Games. “We will not have his services in the Asian Indoor and Martial Games to be held next month in Turkmenistan. But he will be with the team during the Asian Games to be held in Indonesia next summer,” Waseem said. He disclosed that in the Asian Indoor and Martial Games, Pakistan would be fielding five male and four female fighters who are training in Islamabad.

Shah Adil (-87kg), Faheem Khan (-74kg), Mohammad Iqbal (-68kg), Arsalaan Mohammad Khan (-68kg), Ihsan Ahmed (individual pomse), Sofia Nayab (individual pomse), Ayesha Noor (-49kg), Nirma Wasiq (-53kg) and Isra Ilyas (-46kg) will be part of Pakistan squad in the continental event.

He said that UK-based Isra Ilyas would make her international debut in the Asian Indoor and Martial Games. The Games are pencilled in for September 17-27 in Ashgabat. “Isra will bear her own expenses,” he said.

He added that the US-based Nirma, who has already represented Pakistan in the World Championship, would be fully sponsored this time by Pakistan.He said Mohammad Hanif and Kamran Qamar Qureshi would accompany the squad as coaches, while Sher Mohammad Karim would be the manager.He said that 80 percent of the lot set to participate in Ashgabat Games is young.