Pak squad in Indonesia for Asian Open Taekwondo

A 16-member taekwondo squad of Pakistan has arrived in Indonesia to participate in the 6th Asian Open Kyorugi Taekwondo Championship played in Tangerang, Indonesia.

The event will be contested from October 15 to 18 at the Indore Stadium Sports Center. More than 275 athletes from other Asian countries including India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Philippines, Malaysia, Nepal and the host Indonesia will be in action.

Among the male players of the natinal squad are Haroon Khan (-58 kg) Numan Khan (-63 kg) Saud Alam (-63 kg) Muhammad Arbaz Khan (-68 kg) Mazhar Abbas (-80 kg) Ikhtsham-ul-Haq (-87 kg) and Hamza Omar Saeed (+87 kg) ) while the names of Noor Rahman (-57 kg), Maleeha Ali (-73 kg), and Manisha Ali (+73 kg ) are included in the women's team.

Lieutenant Colonel Zeeshan Aslam is the head of the team, Master Yusuf Karami is the head coach, Syed Sadaqat Hussain is manager and Faisal Nadeem Butt is the physio of the team.

Hamza Saeed, who will participate in the +87 kg weight category in the competition, said that a lot of preparations have been done for the championship.

"During the event, there will also be an opportunity to discuss with our contemporaries and professional coaches from other countries, which will be beneficial for us in the future," said Hamza.

Noor Rehman, Pakistan's female taekwondo player in -57kg category, said that she will not take any fight lightly and present good news to the nation by winning medals for Pakistan.