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Thursday March 28, 2024

Pakistan to host Asian Open International Taekwondo Championships

By Our Correspondent
January 12, 2022

KARACHI: Asian Taekwondo Union (ATU) has allotted the 4th Asian Open International Taekwondo Championships to Pakistan.

Pakistan will host the continental event in Islamabad from November 1-4, 2022. The event had earlier been allotted to Chinese Taipei and they were supposed to host it from November 16-25, 2021, but they withdrew the hosting. In accordance with the article 5.9 of the ATU Statutes, ATU conducted an e-vote from December 29, 2021, to January 6, 2022 to select the hosting country.

"As a result of an e-vote we announce that Pakistan is selected as the hosting country for the 4th Asian Open Taekwondo Championships," ATU said in its letter to the PTF.

The top athletes, both male and female, from various countries across the globe will show their worth in the event.

"Young people, mostly aged 17 and above, are going to participate in senior male and female Khyrougi event. Pakistan's national and international referees will also be part of this event along with international referees for the smooth conduct of this prestigious championship," the PTF said in a press release.

Commenting on the preparations, PTF chief Lt Col (retd) Waseem Ahmed said that the federation will hold the event in a befitting way. "PTF will deliver, in every sense, the warmest and friendliest 4th Asian Open International Taekwondo Championship with sincere spirit and genuine warmth," Wasim was quoted as saying. Wasim added the first ever mega event being given to Pakistan Taekwondo speaks of dedication, continuous hard work and remarkable performance of the national athletes, officials and office secretariat team.

He stressed that such events are beneficial for the professional development of officials and athletes. "These events improve the organisational skills of National Sports Federations, ultimately creating a better image of the beloved country," the PTF president said.

Talking to this corespondent, Wasim, who is also member of Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), said that it would be a game-changer for Pakistan. "Yes, it would be a game-changer for us and I request all the stakeholders and media to back us," Wasim said.

He said that ATU does not fund its member associations for holding such an event. "All the expenses will have to be met by us. Before going to bid for this event we had also got NOC from the state and POA and it is in their knowledge. It will cost us around Rs70 million," Wasim said.

"Besides other expenses we will also have to meet every kind of expenses of the supervisory board of the ATU and referees and other representatives of the Asian body. We have started working on the budget. We are happy that we got hosting rights of such a big event which Pakistan is going to host for the first time," Wasim said.

He said that Pakistan have a few good fighters who could win medals in this event. "Yes, Haroon, Shah Zeb, Naqsh Hamdani, Zainab and a few others have the capability to do well in this tough event," said Wasim. The PTF last November held a G-1 event in Islamabad.