Asian Alpine Ski Championship: Pakistani females compete for first time

Five-member squad, including Winter Olympian Karim, departs for Korea.

KARACHI: Amina Wali and Fatema Sohail will become the first Pakistani women to compete at the Asian Alpine Ski Championship, and will be accompanied by Winter Olympian Muhammad Karim, who is hoping to end his third appearance at the event with a medal to take back home.

The five-member squad, including international skier Mir Nawaz and coach Fraz, will be flying out to Yongpyong, Korea in the wee hours of Saturday for the championship which will begin on March 3.

According to Ski Federation of Pakistan secretary Mussarat Ali, Pakistan are capable of winning laurels at the event and even if they don’t, the exposure for the athletes, especially the women, will go a long way in shaping their careers.

“This is the biggest event for our women athletes, which is now licensed by the International Ski Federation,” Ali, who is also one of the Asian ski directors, told The Express Tribune. “Amina earlier competed at the South Asian Winter Games, where she won a medal, but this is a bigger platform. Fatema, on the other hand, will be making her international debut.”

The secretary is hoping the athletes can finish races without getting disqualified in the middle of the run. “Our athletes are good, but Korea and other countries are competitive — they enjoy better facilities compared to what we have. Korea is also hosting the next Winter Olympics, so the level of competition there is quite high.”

Karim aiming for medal

Karim said his goal is to return to Pakistan with a medal from the championship. “I can win a medal here,” said Karim. “Last time in Lebanon, I was vying for the bronze but unfortunately, I fell in the second run. This time I want to turn things around.”

The 19-year-old, who has been training for the championship since September, is expecting tough competition for himself and Nawaz from Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Iranian skiers in the slalom and giant slalom events.

He also added that Pakistani women’s participation is a big step for skiing in the country. “It’s great that they are also competing. I hope that they’ll do well.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 28^th, 2015.

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