Black belts and empty pockets

20-member karate team will participate in South Asian championship

KARACHI: Pakistan's 20-member contingent, including 2014 US Open winner Saadi Abbas and reigning -68kg champion Kulsoom Hazara, will leave for Colombo on Thursday to participate in the South Asian Karate Championship.

The team departs on the same day as the event begins on as the Pakistan Karate Federation (PKF) had a tough time making arrangements. With the government not chipping in, the PKF had to scramble for finances and some athletes even had to bear their own expenses.

Abbas, who has been training in Dubai, feels a much stronger and bigger Pakistani group could've made it to Sri Lanka had the government, for once, played their part.

"I'm a little upset because Pakistan will be missing out on a great opportunity to have a bigger contingent representing the country in all categories such as juniors, seniors, cadet and women's event," he said. "This was a good chance to let the younger players come forward but it couldn't happen because the government didn't have funds for us. The PKF tried to do what it could with the limited resources it had, but this could've been done in a better way."

Kulsoom, meanwhile, believes her task this time will be doubly difficult as defending a title is a greater challenge than winning it the first time.

"It's going to be a tough challenge this time and there is going to be some pressure," admitted Kulsoom. "But I'm focused on doing my best with the hope that things would get easier for me as the championship progresses and I gain more confidence."