South Asian Championship: Pakistan eager to host jiu-jitsu event

Federation awaits Asian body’s approval for organising tournament

KARACHI: The Pakistan Jiu-Jitsu Federation (PJJF) is looking forward to host the South Asian Championship in the country, subject to approval from the Asian Jiu-Jitsu Federation this month.

According to PJJF President Khalil Ahmed, Pakistan has submitted the request to host the South Asian Championship in Pakistan, saying he would want the event to take place in April.

“We are waiting for the Asian Federation to decide,” Ahmed told The Express Tribune. “We hope we get to hold this event as it will benefit us.



“Ideally, the jiu-jitsu event should have been included in the South Asian Games, but India opted against it despite requests from the Pakistan Olympic Association. Therefore, we’ll hold the South Asian Championship separately.”

Ahmed has also previously served as the president of the Asian Jiu-Jitsu Federation.

Asian Championship postponed till Oct

The official added that the Asian Championship, which was slated to begin this month in Jakarta, Indonesia, has been rescheduled to take place in October now.



“We don’t think that the postponement will affect us negatively,” said Ahmed. “This will only give the athletes more time to prepare.”

Ahmed further said Pakistan will also go for the 2016 Asian Beach Games in September.

Meanwhile, jiu-jitsu world championship silver-medallist Mohammad Ammar said he would strive to maintain his form at international events. “Now that we’ve competed at the world championship [in November 2015], I feel we can win more medals at international events this year,” said Ammar.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2016.

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