Pakistan’s Saadi Abbas breaks into top 10 in Karate1 Premier League

Says he needs more support from government, corporate sponsors

KARACHI: Saadi Abbas became the first South Asian to break into the World Karate Federation’s Karate-1 Premier League rankings, but says he needs the government and sponsor's support to continue.

Abbas, who became the first South Asian to win the Asian Karatedo Championship in 2011 and then won the US Open title in the -75 kg, says he has never been given adequate support either from the government or the corporate sponsors.

"Nobody is South Asian region got here because the Karate1 rankings are exclusive for the top 10 players in the world and only they can even register in it," Abbas told The Express Tribune.

Abbas is ranked 10th due to his performance at three events — two in Europe and one in Dubai — while he had to miss one event in Morocco due to the lack of funds.

"I know I've got the talent. I've done my best but this is not enough. I couldn’t go to Morocco because I couldn’t afford it. There is no one from our region in the Karate1 rankings, I'm here, but I need support from the government and the people. I have three more of these events to go, because if I skip those my ranking will drop.”

He continued: “Anybody can be in the overall rankings but Karate1 rankings are the best of the best. It is a bigger tournament than the World Championships even because the world's top 64 players are fighting for it. Every fight is with one of the top players. It’s more skill than luck.”

Abbas is ranked 43rd in the overall world rankings, which is again a feat that no Pakistani has achieved. He fell in the overall rankings too because he skipped the Asian games and other tournaments because of the lack of resources.

While being constantly eager to improve his status at the international level, Abbas feels that the country needs to recognise and prioritise individual sports too which can get Pakistan more laurels in the Asian, Commonwealth and Olympics Games.

"It’s funny most people in Pakistan don't even know about Karate1 and they don't see it," said Abbas. "It’s disappointing, it’s like the athletes needs to keep explaining. I've made so many personal sacrifices to even qualify for the Olympics. Getting ahead on the Karate1 is so difficult because only the best are here.”

"I've tried everything I can but it’s very hard for me to qualify on country quota because other Asian countries like Japan, China and Korea are tough. I want to be outstanding in this, but I need support."