Rowers gearing up for Olympic qualifiers

Federation looking to seal berth in London event.

KARACHI:

As Pakistan athletes struggle to confirm their places at this year’s London spectacle, the country’s rowers are working hard to prepare for the Asian Olympics Qualifying Regatta that will be held in South Korea next month.

Six rowers are currently taking part in a training camp, which has been underway for over a month, at the Rawal Lake in Islamabad.

Pakistan Rowing Federation (PRF) Secretary Rizwanul Haq said that a four-member squad will be sent for the four-day event to be held in Chungju from April 26. “These players are our best athletes,” Haq told The Express Tribune. “All of them have bagged gold medals at the national level.

“They’re working hard and we’re hoping of qualifying for the Olympics.”

Pakistan’s only appearance in the rowing discipline came in the 2000 edition in Sydney. So far, Pakistan have only confirmed their berth in the hockey event of the 2012 Olympics.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2012.