POA wants national championships completed by August-end

KARACHI: Pakistan Olympic Association’s (POA) Secretary General Khalid Mehmood on Friday advised national federations to complete their national championships by the end of August so that the athletes could remain for at least two to three months in the camp for the 13th South Asian Games.

“I think all those federations whose athletes are to appear in the South Asian Games should complete their national championships by the end of August,” Khalid told ‘The News’.“It is very important to keep the players in the camp for two to three months,” he added.

The South Asian Games are slated to be held in Nepal from December 1-10, 2019. This was announced at the South Asian Olympic Council meeting in Bangkok last week.Khalid was quick to add that for individual sports the camps should start now. “I think it’s important to start the camps at least for individual sports now,” the official said.

Nepal was to host the biennial event this month (March) but it was postponed as venues were not prepared.Khalid said that the POA had written to the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) about the SAG. “We have written a letter to the PSB, requesting it to allocate budget and make relevant preparations and announce Pakistan’s contingent. We have also forwarded the same letter to national federations,” said Khalid, who is also the president of Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF).

To a query, Khalid said that they had also told the Director General of PSB that tough preparations would be needed. “Featuring in international events is not a joke. You need quality preparation for pulling off desired results,” Khalid said.Pakistan used to finish second, behind India, in the South Asian Games. But in Guwahati and Shillong in 2016 Pakistan ended third as Sri Lanka took the second position.

India claimed 188 gold medals, Sri Lanka captured 25 and Pakistan only 12. In 2010 South Asian Games in Bangladesh, India had captured 90 gold medals, Pakistan finished second with 19 and Bangladesh third with 18.

Khalid said POA would try to arrange foreign training for the players. “It would be done after weighing all options,” Khalid was quick to add. About the 13th National Games, Khalid said that the POA would soon write a letter to the Balochistan Chief Minister. “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has offered to host the spectacle. After looking at various things we will make a decision in the POA General Council meeting on March 31,” Khalid said.

‘The News’ has learnt that a new sports secretary has been appointed by the Balochistan government. A source from Balochistan said on Friday that the Games might be made possible in Quetta in June and July. Balochistan was supposed to host National Games in Quetta next month, which is not possible.

Before that too the Games had been postponed several times because of security and funding issues. KP Olympic Association’s president Syed Aqil Shah told ‘The News’ in an interview a few days ago if the Games were given to KP he would be able to conduct them in October this year.