Saadi to feature in CW Karate Championship

KARACHI: Pakistan's ace karateka and former Asian champion Saadi Abbas will reach England on Monday (tomorrow) to feature in the 10th Commonwealth Karate Championship which will begin in Birmingham from September 7.

“Yes I will reach on Monday,” Saadi told 'The News' from Dubai on Saturday.

But the big issue is that he has not been able to get the support of the government.

“Federation had written a letter to the PSB but no green signal has been received yet,” the fighter said.

Pakistan Karate Federation (PKF) had written a letter to the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) the other day requesting the Board to provide Rs500,000 to the fighter so that he could meet his ticket, board and lodging charges.

The two-time Commonwealth Championship gold medallist will be looking for his third title in the event. Saadi has to his credit golds in the 2009 Johannesburg and 2013 Montreal Commonwealth Games. The 2014 Las Vegas US Open champion is currently undergoing training in Dubai where he is settled with his family.

He has recently featured in the Islamic Games but saw a second round exit when he lost to the world champion from Uzbekistan after a nail-biting finish to the -75kg fight.