Unable to talk, hear but can win gold

Asma’s performance in national cycling event delights coach.

KARACHI:

There was no end to the delight of Railways cyclist Asma’s coach as the athlete, unable to talk to hear, clinched a gold medal at the 10th National Women Cycling Championship.

Mohammad Jameel, who has trained Asma after she was referred to him six months ago, said the challenge to prepare such an athlete motivated him.

“Asma was referred to me by Noor Hussain, who is the sports incharge at the Hamza Foundation, along with two other similar girls,” Jameel told The Express Tribune. “Initially it was a problem for me to convey my message and understand what they want to say. But then Asma’s mother and Hussain started coming during training sessions which made my job easier.”

The coach praised the fitness level of the 16-year-old, who has had a training routine of cycling 15 to 20 kilometres (km) daily in the past month to prepare for the event. The athlete, who draws a monthly Rs3,000 stipend from Railways, also won bronze medal in the one-km Time-trial yesterday.

Railways dominate national event 

On the second day of the event underway in Kasur, Railways came out on top, while HEC remained the second best team.

In the 20-km Road Team-trial event, Railways clinched gold with a time of 33 minutes, 4.2 seconds, while HEC bagged silver after finishing 16 seconds slower. Afghanistan, the only foreign team at the event, came in third.

Meanwhile, Punjab’s Neelam Riaz claimed gold in the one-km Time-trial race with HEC’s Sidra and Railway’s Asma completing the podium. In the 1000-metre sprint qualification, Railways’ Fiza took pole position ahead of HEC’s Mehwish and Afghanistan’s Shukaria.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 3^rd, 2012.