Training camps for Asian Games begin today

KARACHI: Training camps of various disciplines for Asian Games will begin at different centres of the country from Wednesday (today).

Pakistan Sports Board’s (PSB) spokesman Mohammad Azam Dar told ‘The News’ on Tuesday that Islamabad would host the camps of athletics, baseball, boxing, handball, karate, taekwondo, squash (already started), tennis, volleyball, kabaddi, and weightlifting.

He said that volleyball camp would begin after Pakistan’s junior and youth volleyball teams’ participation in the Asian Junior and Asian Youth Championships.

He added that badminton camp would start in July in the federal capital. “A week-long golf camp will be held in August while the kabaddi camp will be held in the federal capital from July 1 after the team returns from Dubai where it is set to feature in the Masters Cup which will begin this week,” Dar said.

He said that the camps of wrestling, wushu, ju-jitsu and swimming (male) would begin on Wednesday (today) at Lahore. The women’s swimming camp would start in Karachi also on Wednesday, he said.

He said that National Rifle Association of Pakistan (NRAP) had already established its camp, but it had not sought financial assistance from the PSB. However, he said that NRAP had requested the Board to meet the ammunition expenses of its only civilian shooter Usman Chand. “The Board will meet the shooter’s ammunition expenses,” Dar confirmed.

Dar also revealed that the Board had formed a four-member monitoring committee comprising former international players and coaches, who were employees of the Board, to monitor the camps.

“The committee will monitor the camps and will also hold meetings with the coaches after 15 days to discuss with them the reduction to be made in the strength,” Dar said. The committee consists of Rana Nasrullah, Mohammad Arshad, Asadullah and Mohammad Ashraf.

Dar also revealed that the Board was considering sponsoring 280 members of the national contingent which would feature in the Asian Games slated to be held in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang from August 18 to September 2.

“The Board is considering sponsoring around 280 members of the national contingent for the Asian Games. It will include ten officials,” Dar said.

Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) had mentioned in its press release after its meeting with national federations and PSB in Lahore on June 13 that the Board would sponsor 300 members out of the estimated 397 who are to feature in 36 disciplines, 28 affiliated and eight non-affiliated.

Dar explained that the government would support the squads of athletics, badminton, baseball, boxing, equestrian, golf, handball, hockey, ju-jitsu, kabaddi, karate, rowing, rugby, sailing, shooting, squash, swimming, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu.

He said that the Board would not sponsor archery, basketball, football, gymnastics and table tennis.

“Archery, basketball and gymnastic are not affiliated with the PSB. The Board has also legal issues with Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) and there are two bodies of the Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF). So we cannot sponsor players and officials of these disciplines,” Dar said.

He also confirmed that the Board had received the request of Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF) for sending the top national grapplers to Ukraine for training.

Dar said that during the meeting with national federations recently the Board had asked them to tell where they stood. “Almost all of them said that by fielding their squads they wanted to build match temperament of their athletes and so prepare them for the South Asian Games,” Dar said.

He added that only judo federation claimed that it would be in the top five. He said that all federations had been asked to submit their budget proposals in July with the Board with complete details so that proper allocations could be made by the Board for their foreign tours.

Meanwhile, Athletics Federation of Pakistan’s (AFP) Secretary General Mohammad Zafar told ‘The News’ that 18 male and three female athletes had been invited to the camp which would begin in Islamabad on Wednesday.

“We intend to send 17 male and three female athletes to Indonesia for the Asian Games. But it will be subject to the approval from the Board,” Zafar said. He said Pakistan could pull off a surprise in men’s 4X400m relay.