World Athletic Championships: It’s time to deliver, Sahi tells Liaqat

AFP president wants sprinter to improve at 200m event in Moscow.

KARACHI:

Akram Sahi, President of the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) believes that sprinter Liaqat Ali will be able to break the national 200m record when he competes at the ongoing IAAF Athletics Championship in Moscow.

The official revealed that Pakistan was granted a wild card entry and the federation decided to send Liaqat. He recently did well in India by notching up his personal best, 10.53 seconds, in the Asian Athletics Championship.

Liaqat has been put in the 200m competition with the view that he was in good form and was able to run 21.24s in the 200m race, while the national record stands at 21.15s.

“Liaqat’s been running well recently, giving us hope that he will be able to create a new national record,” Sahi told The Express Tribune from Moscow.

“Expecting any major achievement will not be wise but we certainly expect him to create a new record for Pakistan. I’ve conveyed the message to Liaqat that he should improve as we’ve stuck with him through everything.”

Sahi added that the AFP is also looking to groom sprinter Imran Niazi and will give him opportunities in upcoming events.“Imran is a talented sprinter but the fact is that he loses to Liaqat, thus his chances have been limited.”

The official revealed that he will be attending the IAAF Congress in Moscow and is hoping for a positive outcome regarding the promotion of athletics in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 14^th, 2013.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.