Shahbaz captures bronze for Pakistan

Three-member taekwondo team concludes Nepal campaign.

KARACHI: Pakistan athlete Muhammad Shahbaz claimed bronze in the Mount Everest Taekwondo Championship -68 kg event while Muhammad Asif defeated India’s Manoj Kumar Yadav in the -74 kg competition to reach the quarter-finals in Kathmandu, Nepal.

In a championship featuring 10 countries including India, Nepal, Maldives, Bangladesh, Australia in eight weight categories, Pakistan fielded Shahbaz, Asif and Muhammad Ayaz Khan.

According to Pakistan Taekwondo Federation (PTF) President Wasim Ahmed, the team’s performance was satisfactory and should serve to highlight the potential of the sport in Pakistan.

He added that taekwondo needs more support from the government in terms of setting up training camps before any event.

“We weren’t expecting any medal at all, so this is a pleasant surprise,” Ahmed told The Express Tribune. “We sent the team to convey a message that Pakistan is not far behind in talent, but now it is up to the government to help us in the future.

“It is extremely important to send our teams abroad. At least we need our allotted grants for the federation so that we can set up camps and our athletes can perform internationally.

“Similarly, we also want to hold tournaments in Pakistan. We can arrange international events in a much better way here.”

Ahmed further said that the players can perform better in future events, given that the federation gets funds on time.

“We also competed in the Junior World Championship in Chinese Taipei in March and reached the quarter-finals there. This time we’ve won a bronze medal, but it’s not enough. Our athletes need proper camps and international exposure in order to compete in the Asian Games this September."

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2014.

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