2 athletes to take part in indoor championship

Federation not expecting medals, wants duo to gain exposure.

KARACHI: The Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) is sending a two -member squad and an official to Istanbul for the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championship to be held from March 9-11.

Sindh Athletics Federation President Zahid Ali Rizvi will accompany Imran Ahmed (60-metres) and Rabia Ashiq (800m) with the squad leaving on March 7 for the mega event, in which 870 athletes from 178 countries will take part.

AFP Secretary Khalid Mehmood said that the athletes were being sent for the sake of improvement.

“They are being sent to give them exposure and it will be unrealistic to expect big things from them when top athletes from all over the world are competing against them,” Mehmood told The Express Tribune.

He added that the federation’s main aim was to prepare athletes for the Asian and South Asian championships where they had realistic chances of making their presence felt and the indoor championship will help the cause.

AFP President Major General (retd) Mohammad Akram Sahi earlier said that the federation was trying to strike a deal with China, Jamaica, Kenya, Russia and the UAE so that a few Pakistani athletes could be sent abroad for training ahead of the South Asian Games.

However, Mehmood revealed that the AFP’s efforts to send their athletes abroad for training have proved futile so far.

“We are hopeful of receiving a green signal from one of the Gulf states in the near future but nothing has been confirmed so far,” said Mehmood.

The main aim of the two athletes being sent to Turkey, according to Mehmood, should be to improve their personal records because the federation can use their quota and send them for such competitions in the future as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 2^nd, 2012.