Sindh stage comeback to win online Taekwondo championship

KARACHI: Sindh turned the table on the oppositions as they made a smart fightback to emerge as winners of the first ever online Taekwondo Poomsae Championship which concluded on Friday.

Sindh finished at the pole position with 264 points which they earned by virtue of two gold, ten silver and 22 bronze medals. Punjab ended as runners-up with 248 points which they earned through eight gold, seven silver and ten bronze.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stood third with 189 points which they got through ten gold, two silver and three bronze. In the event, fighters from all the affiliated associations including Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Kashmir, and members of clubs which are registered with the district, provincial or national federation are participating.

Foreign-based Pakistani fighters and players belonging to other nationalities including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, USA, Jordan, Russia, India, Philippines, Kazakhstan, Sudan and Nepal are also featuring.

As per results of Female Under 26 Creative Poomsae, in Group 1, Wania Ghassan of KP claimed gold, Fatima Khawer of Sindh clinched silver, while Samia Zafar and Zara Shafi of Sindh grabbed bronze each.

In Male Under 11 Poomsae, in Group 1, Awais Kabir of Punjab got gold, Muhammad Hamdan of Punjab lifted silver, while Azmaan Kamran and Arsalan Ullah Khattak of Sindh claimed bronze each. In Group 2, 12 Year and above, Huzaifa Qamar of Punjab got gold, Bilal Ahmed of Balochistan secured silver, while Ikram Ullah Khattak and Bilal Khaskheli of Sindh claimed bronze each.

In Senior Male Group 1 (41 to 45 Years), Muhammad Qasir of KPK got gold, Kamran Qureshi of Sindh secured silver, while Ashfaq Ahmed of Sindh and Rana M Saleem of Punjab got bronze each. In Group 2 (46 years and Above), Dr Zameer Altaf of Punjab won gold, Asad Raza of Sindh secured silver, while Noor Ahmed Abbasi and Mateen Aziz of Sindh claimed bronze each. As many as 400 athletes featured in the event. A senior official of the Pakistan Taekwondo Federation (PTF) said that 36 foreign players participated.

He added that a ceremony to distribute trophy, medals as well as cash prizes will be organised after Eid holidays in Islamabad and all provincial stakeholders will be invited. Due to Covid-19, athletes will not be called except those from Islamabad. Hankook sponsored the event.