The nation can start hoping...

Pakistan have managed to confirm their berth for London in just hockey. Expecting berths in other sports too.

KARACHI:

Pakistan made their Olympics debut in 1948 and have managed just ten medals since then, eight of those coming from hockey with the rest from wrestling and boxing.

As things stand, Pakistan have managed to confirm their berth for London in just hockey that came courtesy their gold medal in the Asian Games last year. The football team is already out of contention after they lost to Malaysia in February.

However, the country is expecting berths in several disciplines including boxing, swimming, taekwondo and shooting.

POA not too hopeful

While major sports nations are eyeing a tally of medals, the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) has rued the current state of national athletes who are swimming against the tides as they bid for a place in London.

“The current status is not encouraging,” the POA chief Arif Hasan told The Express Tribune.

“There’s hardly any financial support from the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), the flow of which is a must due to qualifying events.

“In boxing there’s tough competition and we can’t count on other disciplines either.

“Saadi Abbas brought smiles and hopes to many after winning Asian karate gold and we’re also hoping to get wild-card entries.

“But at this stage, we can only pray for the best.”

Hockey

]The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) believes that the national team’s preparations for the mega event are right on track.

PHF Secretary Asif Bajwa is optimistic that there are fair chances for the team to do well in London as they have been competing with the best teams in Europe in order to prepare for the mega event.

“I believe that we’ll bring back the past glory to Pakistan hockey next year. The team won the Asian Games last year and we are hoping that we will get the same outcome in the Olympics as well.”

Boxing

Boxers are seen as potential medal-winning athletes after hockey ever since legendary Hussain Shah’s bronze medal finish in Seoul. Since then many boxers have participated in the Olympics after showing much promise at the Asian level. Pakistan failed to qualify for Beijing but the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) is hopeful this time.

“We are giving the best possible preparations to our boxers,” said PBF Secretary Akram Khan. “Hopefully our boxers will succeed in confirming a few berths for the London Games. We have high hopes with our Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Mohammad Waseem and Haroon Khan.”

Wrestling

Apart from hockey and boxing, wrestling is the only other discipline where Pakistan have managed a podium finish. Mohammad Bashir achieved the feat in 1960 in free-style wrestling. However, lack of funds and support from the government has marred Pakistan’s chances in the sport.

“Our athletes have shown the potential by winning gold medals in the last Commonwealth Games,” said a wrestling federation official. “We are not getting support from the Pakistan Sports Board. Even our participation in the Commonwealth Championship is in jeopardy due to lack of funds.”

Swimming

The Pakistan Swimming Federation (PSF) has said that the country’s swimmers have a good chance at qualifying for London in the ongoing FINA World Championships as they have wild-card entries in the event.

“Olympics is the biggest event for any athlete and we are hoping that Kiran Khan gets there after narrowly missing out on Beijing,” said PSF Secretary Majid Waseem.

“Our swimmers have been part of the Olympics since 1948 and we hope that one of our swimmers makes it to London as well.”

Shooting

National Rifle Association of Pakistan Secretary Javed Lodhi has said that the shooting squad will take part in the Asian Championships in January and that the results in the event will decide if they qualify for the Olympics.

“Basically we have a quota for the shooters from each continent,” explained Lodhi. “I am hopeful that one of our shooters will get a place in the Olympics next year. Khurram Inam represented Pakistan in Sydney and Athens. I can’t say that we can win medals in London but we have a couple of shooters who will make their mark in the event.”

Karate

The Pakistan Karate Federation Secretary Shamim Hashmi has said that the team will be sent to participate in the 2012 Olympics if they get enough funds from the PSB.

“We don’t really have any qualifying rounds,” said Hashmi. “We have requested the sports board to consider our squad since Saadi Abbas has done well in the Asian Karate Championships and it shows that we have a potential to win medals in the Olympics as well. I can say that we are preparing for the Olympics and all we need is the approval from the sports board and the funds.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2011.