India, Nepal arrive for judo championship

Pakistan federation worried about security as event begins today.

KARACHI:

Indian and Nepalese judo squads arrived in Islamabad yesterday to participate in the South Asian Judo Championship that gets underway today.

The Pakistan Judo Federation (PJF) has organised the first international event in the country and after weeks of speculation over the participation of teams, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka will take part in the tournament besides India, Nepal and the hosts. The event will see 42 athletes compete across 10 events.

“It’s been a challenge for us to organise the tournament,” the PJF President Shujat Ali told The Express Tribune. “We’re trying to break the ice here. It’s been long since any Indian team has come to Pakistan. However, we are a bit concerned about the security situation. We aren’t satisfied by it.”

Pakistan bagged three gold, three silver and a bronze medal in the 2010 South Asian Games 2010 where India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh were the other participants.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2011.