Haroon to compete in Tokyo 2020 Test Event on September 27

KARACHI: Haroon Khan, Pakistan’s sole Olympic hope in taekwondo, will leave for Japan on September 25 to feature in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Test Event slated to be held on September 27 at Chiba city.

As many as 32 top fighters from around the world will compete in Haroon’s weight category which is -58 kilogramme. “Yes, we are sending him on September 25 to Japan. It will help him get some more exposure which will further build his confidence ahead of the major Olympic test to follow in a few months,” Pakistan Taekwondo Federation’s (PTF) president Col Waseem told ‘The News’ from Rawalpindi on Monday.

Waseem said that Haroon had a realistic chance of qualifying for Olympics. “We have been working with him constantly for many months. If we calculate till the end of the Asian qualifying round next year, we will have worked with him for around two years to prepare him for his Olympic test,” he added.

Haroon last month won bronze in a G-1 event in Jordan. The Quetta-born young fighter impressed the game’s experts when he recorded a stunning win over European champion Mourad Laachraoui of Belgium in the round of 32 in the World Taekwondo Championships in Manchester Arena in Manchester on May 15 and 16 this year.

After beating Mourad, however, Haroon fell in the round of 16 when he went 9-10 down to the 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medallist and two-time European champion Rui Braganca of Portugal. Rui had won gold in the 2014 Baku and 2016 Montreux European Championships. Haroon was sent to South Korea for training ahead of the World Championships.

Haroon, who won bronze medal at Al-Fajar International event, will have to compete for the Olympic slot in the Asian qualifying round which will be held from April 10 to 12, 2020, in eastern Chinese city Wuxi. “That will be a crucial event for Haroon, being the last chance for him,” Waseem said.

“I have confidence in his ability. Only the fighters of Iran and Thailand could compete with Haroon. He can beat anyone else,” Waseem said. The gold and silver medallists of the Asian qualifying round will make it to the 2020 Olympics. Scotland-based Atif Arshad narrowly missed the Olympics seat a few years ago when he finished with a bronze in the 2016 Asian qualifying round in the Philippines.

Haroon will also feature in China Open in November . “We are sending him to China Open also as some good fighters will come there which will further build Haroon’s confidence,” Waseem said.

Haroon is also being sent to South Korea for a couple of months’ training after the South Asian Games slated to be held in Nepal from December 1-10. “The Korea training tour will also help Haroon get acclimatise with the conditions as Korea and Japan have same weather conditions,” Waseem said.

“I have written to government for Rs2 million for Haroon and Aneela. I am also looking forward to meeting the IPC minister Fehmida Mirza. I hope she will listen to me and help fighters in their cause,” Waseem said.

“If nothing happens then the federation will still send Haroon to Korea as it is very important for him for the Asian qualifying round,” Waseem said. From Korea, Haroon will directly proceed to China for the Asian qualifying round. Waseem said that the PTF vice-president and business tycoon Umar Saeed and Javed Iqbal had been backing the federation in its bid to give exposure to the budding fighters.