Injured Judoka Qaisar searching for silver lining after 2019 SAG medals
Athlete won two silver medals with injured right knee, throat infection
PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
The most inspiring story for Pakistan out of the South Asian Games (SAG) may come from the most unlikely of places, and it is for sure a story of a comeback from a teenager that may not be mentioned as much as the gold medal winners, but the Games in Nepal were a battle to be won for Qaisar Khan Afridi.
The 18-year-old from Bara Khyber Agency had achieved more than anyone expected from him, especially as he had been battling with a knee injury on his right leg, while having a throat infection too. He still managed to get a silver medal for the country that is overall slipping down to fourth-place in the region behind India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Qiasar wanted to win the gold medal but he eventually lost to India's Pramod Kumar in the -90kg final.
"It was not easy to lose," the youngster told The Express Tribune. "It is not easy given how badly I wanted to make this a story of triumph. I needed to defeat myself too with the burden of injury I had been carrying. But I understand I left everything I had on the floor. I know I can't go to the Olympics next year, but I wanted this medal badly. I'm glad I got a silver medal, but it is never easy to lose."
Qaisar’s is a remarkable journey. Even at a young age, the 2018 Asian Cadet Championship silver-medallist has been the one who fought against the odds.
He believes losing his father in a terrorist attack at the then unstable tribal areas in 2006 was difficult to live with for a long time, but now he believes in fighting any hurdles that may come his way, even if it is a knee injury — anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) — that he picked in 2018 when he was competing at the cadet championship in Uzbekistan.
"I won this South Asian medal now just to see how far my talent can take me. I know even now my knee is not a 100% and maybe that's why this medal is special even more. Although my family has been expecting a gold medal from me to defend my performance from the South Asian Judo Championship last year, where I had defeated another Indian opponent and had gotten gold, but they understood that fighting with a knee that still needs another surgery is not easy.
"I've been fighting physically and mentally too. I can still fight, but it is also about me being mentally prepared to have another surgery now. I need help with that, but I believe that I can come back stronger once I get the proper treatment," said Qaisar.
Qaisar had his first surgery last year after the injury, it had cost him more than Rs300,000, but now in November before the National Games in Peshawar, where he picked a gold medal for Army, he feels the pain came back.
However, despite the struggle, Qaisar won silver at the 2019 SAG and also another silver medal in the team event, where he was partnering with Olympian Shah Hussain Shah.
"I learn, even in this championship I was in the same team as Shah and then Karamat Butt, who I had finally defeated in 2015, when I was younger at the national championship. I know they are proud of me too and the teammates helped me a lot during the games, taking care of me, because we hardly ever have a team doctor with us. It has been more about the camaraderie, growth and learning in that aspect. We can't blame the Pakistan Judo Federation (PJF) because they don't have the funds for many things, so in times like these I was lucky to be with such an incredible group of judokas," explained Qaisar.
Olympic dream can evolve
The PJF had been impressed with Qaisar for more than four years now. In 2013 the teenager was spotted by Sajjad Kazemi, Pakistan's head coach from Iran, at that time. Qaisar said that he learned most of his techniques from Kazemi and the support made him take judo as a profession, but he had started dreaming about representing the country long before that.
"I wanted to be a cricketer at first, like many Pakistani children begin to play cricket first, but then my friend introduced me to judo in school," said Qaisar. "I loved it and my mentor Noor Shah Afridi trained me first in Bara. I competed at a local event afterwards and there Kazemi saw me, I haven't looked back since then. But this injury is stopping me now."
Qaisar said that his time as a judoka has been rewarding but testing as well. Since last year, he had to give up on his dream for 2020 Olympics and there had been no help with his surgery either, despite informing his department many times about reimbursing him for the expenses on his treatment.
"I had told Army, my department, more than 10 times about it, but I'm on contract, I can't expect much," said Qaisar with a hint of pain in his voice.
However, he is a youngster with dreams that goes beyond the pain and the odds he is facing. He feels he would get medals albeit bronze for the country if he competes internationally.
To compete at the Olympics, Qaisar will need enough international participation to collect enough points for the International Judo Federation rankings, but so far he had to come to terms with the fact that there are no funds and his talent is not utilised in the right way.
"I can't just train in mountains and go compete at the Olympics. Even before the injury in November last year, I came to realise that no one will back me like that. Who is going to pay for my tickets and my expenses for all the qualification events abroad? The PFJ is struggling with grants already, I have no sponsors, Army is my department, but they didn't even pay for my treatment for the knee. I understand there is no one to have my back like that, I've got no sponsors because no one sponsors judokas in Pakistan," said Qaisar nonchalantly.
But he wants to set his eyes on the 2024 Olympics, and to get his knee in shape first.
The teenager is playing for Army locally, but he is hired on contract by them.
"It is a contractual job, I want to get a better job too, but I’m an athlete first and foremost, so I need to go to the UK for this treatment. I have seen enough doctors here and they are telling me that I would need another smaller surgery, but it can't happen here in Pakistan. I will need at least six months to rehabilitate too, so I'm just praying that somehow I get this treatment on time, the older I get the worst it will be for me. I know my career depends on this," the 2016 SAG bronze-medallist urged, as things have not gone according to his plan in the last three years till his second appearance at the regional Games.
The 2018 Macau Cadet Asia Cup silver-medallist had spent money on his treatment on his own and the help of his mentor in Bara, while knowing that knee injuries are a nightmare to any athlete, he is keeping an optimistic outlook to this situation, even though the decision to have his first surgery was a scary idea to him in the beginning.
"2020 Olympics slipped through my hands not because I was not a better athlete, but because there is a lack of resources. I have to accept it and move on to my rehabilitation, my target for 2024. I know I'm young and I have recovered 80%. It was scary at first because I was wondering if my knee will even move again before the first surgery.
"I have changed my game since last year too, from my right leg to be dominant, to now me using my left leg more. I have the fight in me, but I need others to believe it too and I don't know how else I can prove it. I have done my best on the floor in the Games.
“The target is simple, I need this treatment and win more medals for my country that is all I want, even if I have to reset my goals from 2020 Olympics to now 2024 in Paris," he concluded.
The most inspiring story for Pakistan out of the South Asian Games (SAG) may come from the most unlikely of places, and it is for sure a story of a comeback from a teenager that may not be mentioned as much as the gold medal winners, but the Games in Nepal were a battle to be won for Qaisar Khan Afridi.
The 18-year-old from Bara Khyber Agency had achieved more than anyone expected from him, especially as he had been battling with a knee injury on his right leg, while having a throat infection too. He still managed to get a silver medal for the country that is overall slipping down to fourth-place in the region behind India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Qiasar wanted to win the gold medal but he eventually lost to India's Pramod Kumar in the -90kg final.
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"It was not easy to lose," the youngster told The Express Tribune. "It is not easy given how badly I wanted to make this a story of triumph. I needed to defeat myself too with the burden of injury I had been carrying. But I understand I left everything I had on the floor. I know I can't go to the Olympics next year, but I wanted this medal badly. I'm glad I got a silver medal, but it is never easy to lose."
Qaisar’s is a remarkable journey. Even at a young age, the 2018 Asian Cadet Championship silver-medallist has been the one who fought against the odds.
He believes losing his father in a terrorist attack at the then unstable tribal areas in 2006 was difficult to live with for a long time, but now he believes in fighting any hurdles that may come his way, even if it is a knee injury — anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) — that he picked in 2018 when he was competing at the cadet championship in Uzbekistan.
"I won this South Asian medal now just to see how far my talent can take me. I know even now my knee is not a 100% and maybe that's why this medal is special even more. Although my family has been expecting a gold medal from me to defend my performance from the South Asian Judo Championship last year, where I had defeated another Indian opponent and had gotten gold, but they understood that fighting with a knee that still needs another surgery is not easy.
"I've been fighting physically and mentally too. I can still fight, but it is also about me being mentally prepared to have another surgery now. I need help with that, but I believe that I can come back stronger once I get the proper treatment," said Qaisar.
Qaisar had his first surgery last year after the injury, it had cost him more than Rs300,000, but now in November before the National Games in Peshawar, where he picked a gold medal for Army, he feels the pain came back.
However, despite the struggle, Qaisar won silver at the 2019 SAG and also another silver medal in the team event, where he was partnering with Olympian Shah Hussain Shah.
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"I learn, even in this championship I was in the same team as Shah and then Karamat Butt, who I had finally defeated in 2015, when I was younger at the national championship. I know they are proud of me too and the teammates helped me a lot during the games, taking care of me, because we hardly ever have a team doctor with us. It has been more about the camaraderie, growth and learning in that aspect. We can't blame the Pakistan Judo Federation (PJF) because they don't have the funds for many things, so in times like these I was lucky to be with such an incredible group of judokas," explained Qaisar.
Olympic dream can evolve
The PJF had been impressed with Qaisar for more than four years now. In 2013 the teenager was spotted by Sajjad Kazemi, Pakistan's head coach from Iran, at that time. Qaisar said that he learned most of his techniques from Kazemi and the support made him take judo as a profession, but he had started dreaming about representing the country long before that.
"I wanted to be a cricketer at first, like many Pakistani children begin to play cricket first, but then my friend introduced me to judo in school," said Qaisar. "I loved it and my mentor Noor Shah Afridi trained me first in Bara. I competed at a local event afterwards and there Kazemi saw me, I haven't looked back since then. But this injury is stopping me now."
Qaisar said that his time as a judoka has been rewarding but testing as well. Since last year, he had to give up on his dream for 2020 Olympics and there had been no help with his surgery either, despite informing his department many times about reimbursing him for the expenses on his treatment.
"I had told Army, my department, more than 10 times about it, but I'm on contract, I can't expect much," said Qaisar with a hint of pain in his voice.
However, he is a youngster with dreams that goes beyond the pain and the odds he is facing. He feels he would get medals albeit bronze for the country if he competes internationally.
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To compete at the Olympics, Qaisar will need enough international participation to collect enough points for the International Judo Federation rankings, but so far he had to come to terms with the fact that there are no funds and his talent is not utilised in the right way.
"I can't just train in mountains and go compete at the Olympics. Even before the injury in November last year, I came to realise that no one will back me like that. Who is going to pay for my tickets and my expenses for all the qualification events abroad? The PFJ is struggling with grants already, I have no sponsors, Army is my department, but they didn't even pay for my treatment for the knee. I understand there is no one to have my back like that, I've got no sponsors because no one sponsors judokas in Pakistan," said Qaisar nonchalantly.
But he wants to set his eyes on the 2024 Olympics, and to get his knee in shape first.
The teenager is playing for Army locally, but he is hired on contract by them.
"It is a contractual job, I want to get a better job too, but I’m an athlete first and foremost, so I need to go to the UK for this treatment. I have seen enough doctors here and they are telling me that I would need another smaller surgery, but it can't happen here in Pakistan. I will need at least six months to rehabilitate too, so I'm just praying that somehow I get this treatment on time, the older I get the worst it will be for me. I know my career depends on this," the 2016 SAG bronze-medallist urged, as things have not gone according to his plan in the last three years till his second appearance at the regional Games.
The 2018 Macau Cadet Asia Cup silver-medallist had spent money on his treatment on his own and the help of his mentor in Bara, while knowing that knee injuries are a nightmare to any athlete, he is keeping an optimistic outlook to this situation, even though the decision to have his first surgery was a scary idea to him in the beginning.
"2020 Olympics slipped through my hands not because I was not a better athlete, but because there is a lack of resources. I have to accept it and move on to my rehabilitation, my target for 2024. I know I'm young and I have recovered 80%. It was scary at first because I was wondering if my knee will even move again before the first surgery.
"I have changed my game since last year too, from my right leg to be dominant, to now me using my left leg more. I have the fight in me, but I need others to believe it too and I don't know how else I can prove it. I have done my best on the floor in the Games.
“The target is simple, I need this treatment and win more medals for my country that is all I want, even if I have to reset my goals from 2020 Olympics to now 2024 in Paris," he concluded.