Wild-card takes Pakistan to London's pools

Two swimmers chosen to take part in the Olympics.

KARACHI: Pakistan swimmers will travel to London for this year’s Olympics after the sport’s governing body Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) gave Israr Hussain and Anum Bandey wild cards based on their performance at the World Championships in Shanghai last year.

The Pakistan Swimming Federation (PSF) had sent three swimmers for the event that served as Olympic qualifiers and while they failed to gain direct entry, Fina rewarded Israr and Anum for their decent show.

“It’s a great opportunity for both swimmers and we’re proud that they made their way to London,” PSF Secretary Majid Waseem told The Express Tribune. “Both are very capable. Anum is young and Hussain is very experienced and quick — both have been very impressive in national events so far.

“We hope that they will do their best in the Olympics. It’s an achievement because our swimmers were competing in the World Championships against the best swimmers and they managed to impress the judges at Fina.”

This will be the fourth time that Pakistan swimmers will be participating in the Olympics. Kiran Khan had represented the country at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Rubab Raza in 2004 and Kamal Salman Masud in 2000.

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