KARACHI: The 42nd National Athletics Championship will start today in the Jinnah sports complex, Islamabad with 400 male and 200 female athletes participating in the tournament representing 15 teams in 45 events. Besides the four provincial teams, Pakistan Army, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Air Force and Police are also featuring with Wapda, Pakistan Railways, Pakistan Steel Mills and the Higher Education Commission.
“The National Athletics Championship is the biggest event for athletes because the 2010 National Games got cancelled this year due to security reason,” Syed Zahid Ali Rizvi, the vice-president of the Athletics federation of Pakistan (AFP) told The Express Tribune.
“We are expecting to see new talent this year as seasoned athletes like Sadaf Siddiqui and Javeria Hasanare not taking part in the championship, while Naseem Hameed, Asia’s fastest woman is also appearing in two events only,” added Rizvi.
Hameed is representing the Pakistan Steel Mills in the 400 metre relay race and the long jump event. The other prominent names participating this year include Liaquat Ali in the 200 metre race, Haq Nawaz in the 400 metre race, Pakistan Steel Mills’ Nazia in the 400 metre hurdles and Nausheen in the 100 metre hurdles.
Published in the Express Tribune, July 6th, 2010.
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