‘We need a sports complex at Abbottabad’

KARACHI: Pakistan Volleyball Federation’s (PVF) Chairman Chaudhry Mohammad Yaqoob on Wednesday said that the federal government should establish a well-facilitated sports complex at Abbottabad so that national camps could be held there in summer.

“Athletes will have to train in Islamabad and other cities which are experiencing extremely hot weather. In order to avoid such a problem in future the federal government should build a well-facilitated sports complex at Abbottabad where the weather remains moderate in summer,” Yaqoob told ‘The News’ on Wednesday.

“We have only one mega sports facility in the country — Pakistan Sports Complex at Islamabad. If at Abbottabad such a facility is managed then the camps could be held there from May to September, a time-frame in which weather in Islamabad is normally hot,” said Yaqoob, a former top police official.

He said that billions of rupees were wasted on building a sports complex in Narowal which could not be properly utilised as it was very far away.

“There was no need to spend such a huge amount on Narowal Sports Complex which is not within the reach of sports fraternity. It would have been much better had land in Abbottabad been purchased for a sports complex,” Yaqoob said.

Around Rs1200 million has been spent on the construction of Narowal Sports Complex which is a multi-sport facility.Yaqoob said Liaquat Gymnasium, housed in Pakistan Sports Complex, Islamabad, is also not air-conditioned which creates great problems for volleyball players.

“When players practise there in hot weather they lose energy and become weak. If you have a facility at Abbottabad you can easily hold camps there in summer,” the official said.“Mostly international events are held at a time when Pakistan is in grip of hot weather. Constructing a complex at Abbottabad will be a long-term solution to the problem,” Yaqoob reiterated.

He said if Islamabad-like sports facilities were managed at Abbottabad then in summer Pakistan would also be able to hold international events.He also suggested that the government should enhance boarding facilities at the Pakistan Sports Complex. “Another hostel should be added to the existing ones,” he said.

About Pakistan’s volleyball team camp for the Asian Games, Yaqoob said they had requested the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) for an early camp. “We have requested the Board that our camp should be held early. We have hardly two and a half months. We needed at least a four-month camp for the Asian Games,” the official pointed out. “Other nations hold camps for such a mega event for years,” he was quick to add.

The Asian Games are pencilled in for August 18 to September 2 in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang. Yaqoob said Pakistan’s youth and junior team camps had been shifted from Islamabad to Peshawar.

He further said that Pakistan’s Iranian coach Hamid Movahedi would arrive on Thursday (today) to join the camp in Peshawar. He said that he would handle all the three camps for junior, youth and senior with the assistance of support staff.