Asian Games preparation: PSB to back potential medal winners

KARACHI: A senior official of Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) on Tuesday said that the government would fully back all those sports disciplines in which Pakistan had the potential to win medals at the Asian Games, which are slated to be held in Indonesia from August 18 to September 2.

“We will support all those disciplines in which the country has chance of medals,” the official told ‘The News’ from Islamabad. He said that Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF) had been asked to give the Board its proposal about where it wanted to send its athletes for training.

“The PWF wants to train its grapplers in any state of Russia. We have told them to give us the ultimate name of the state and the Board will financially support the tour,” the official said.The official said that the country’s premier wrestler Mohammad Inam had the guts to win a medal at the Asian Games.

“Inam can repeat his Commonwealth Games performance at the Asian Games if he undergoes quality training,” the official said. He also revealed that the PSB had also asked Pakistan Karate Federation (PKF) chairman Mohammad Jehangir to send his top fighter Saadi Abbas abroad for training ahead of the Asian Games and the Board would support the trip.

It is pertinent to mention here that Saadi has been a world class fighter and has to his credit a gold in the Asian Championships, a gold in US Open and a couple of golds in the Commonwealth Karate Championships.

The PSB official said that the Board had also asked Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF) to hire a foreign coach for Nooh Dastagir Butt, who won bronze in the +105kg competitions in the Commonwealth Games in Australia.

“Nooh is a great weightlifter but he needs good training under a highly qualified coach. I think both Nooh and Talha Talib (62kg) can spring surprise in the Asian Games,” the official said.The official said that Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) had been asked to send to Indonesia only those boxers who could win medals in the Asian Games.

He said that in the next few days the Board is expected to hold a meeting with the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) to discuss Pakistan’s contingent for the Asian Games.About the judo issue, the PSB official said that the POA would be told not to create issues for the country’s judokas so that they could feature in the Asian Games.

The official said that Japan-based judoka Shah Hussain had the guts to perform well in the Asian Games. “Shah is training in Japan but we can help him if he wants to go to any foreign country for training ahead of the Asian Games,” the official said.

He also said that in ju-jitsu and kabaddi Pakistan could earn medals in the Asian Games. The official said that very soon full-fledged camps in various disciplines would be initiated so that some solid preparation could be made for the Asian Games.

The official said appreciated the timings recorded by national athletes in the trials held in Islamabad the other day.“Some athletes, including Mehboob Ali and Nokar Hussain, recorded impressive timings in 400m and 400m hurdles. It means that Pakistan can create some chance in at least 4X400m relay in Asian Games. Some other athletes also pulled off good timings,” said the official.He was quick to add that javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem was also capable of performing well in the Asian Games. The athletics camp will be held in Islamabad next week.