Pakistan hope to make presence felt in Asian Volleyball

KARACHI: Pakistan’s volleyball team will leave for Iran on July 28 to feature in the 18th Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship which will be held at the Azadi Sports Complex in Tehran from July 31 to August 8.
“Yes we plan to send the team on July 28,” PVF chairman Chaudhry Mohammad Yaqoob told ‘The News’ on Saturday.
Pakistan have been bracketed in Group C with Thailand, South Korea and Oman. Yaqoob said that initially Saudi Arabia were in Pakistan’s group but after their withdrawal Oman were shifted from a five-team Group A to replace the Saudis.
Pakistan will open their campaign with the show against Thailand on July 31. This would be followed by their game against Oman on August 1 and South Korea on August 2.
Hosts and defending champions Iran, Kazakhstan, Kuwait and Chinese Taipei have been placed in Group A while Group B carries Australia, India, Turkmenistan and Qatar. China, Japan, Sri Lanka and Bahrain are in Group D.
Two teams each from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals round.
Pakistan have been preparing for the event since May 20. After undergoing a month-long training at WAPDA Sports Complex Lahore the camp was shifted to Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) Wah last month due to excessive hot weather in the Punjab capital.
“I am thankful to POF Wah chairman for providing us air-conditioned hall. Due to Ramadan our players train in the night,” Yaqoob said.
Skipper Naseer Ahmed, who has returned after playing league in Lebanon, has joined the camp.
However Yaqoob said that another professional player Aimal Khan, who plays league in Thaiwan, would join them soon.
“Aimal has been informed and he will join the camp soon,” Yaqoob said.
Lack of money is the most serious factor hampering volleyball development. The PVF suffered for the last three years because of its differences with the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) over the tenure restriction clause of the national sports policy. Not a single penny was given to PVF during the said period by the Board.
But now the PVF has resolved its differences with the Board and has made the required amendments in its constitution to bring it at par with the national sports policy.
But still the PSB has not yet opened its grants for the PVF.
“We have already sent our case to the Board. It has promised that it will take up the matter in its executive committee meeting expected to be held before Eid-ul-Fitr,” he said.
“We have been sending teams for international events during the last three years on our own expenses. Our team even at this stage needed a foreign tour ahead of the Asian Championship but we could not arrange that because of financial issues,” Yaqoob pointed out.
“We could have raised a fine team had we been backed by the government. The government should give priority to volleyball as it is the sort of discipline in which the country has enormous potential and can develop,” Yaqoob said.