Kiran geared up for world championship

Female swimmer confident of Olympic qualification.

KARACHI:

National champion Kiran Khan is set to participate in the 14th Fina World Masters Championships in Shanghai tomorrow.

The event will serve as the qualification round for the 2012 London Olympics in which Khan and Israr Hussain will represent the country.

The 21-year-old female swimmer, whose participation had been put in doubt due to NOC issues earlier, is confident of a good performance.

Confident of success

Khan overcame the first hurdle towards participation in the event, winning the national championship last month, which led to the Pakistan Swimming Federation (PSF) choosing her as the country’s female representative at the tournament. The selectors chose Hussain to represent Pakistan in the men’s events.

“I’ve been working very hard for this tournament,” Khan told The Express Tribune. “This tournament is my only way to the Olympics. I must perform well as it has been four years since I set a record.

“I’m at the peak of my career and I feel I can make my way to the top. I have been training in New Jersey with American swimmers, who will be competing at the championship as well.”

Khan will compete in the 50-metre butterfly and 50-metre backstroke events. According to Khan, her time in the national championship was 30.45 seconds, which she must bring down to 28 seconds at the event to earn a wildcard entry for the Olympics.

Meanwhile, PSF Secretary Majid Waseem claims the federation has taken care logistics for the tour to China. He added that the NOC issue had been resolved and the athletes will leave for Shanghai today.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2011.