Pakistan prepare for world rowing event

Team enters last week of training camp for global event.

KARACHI:

The Pakistan rowing team will fly to South Korea next week for the World Rowing Championships aiming to test itself against the best teams from around the globe.

The national training camp resumed this week after Eid holidays and is scheduled to continue till August 20, a couple of days before the team’s departure.

The team comprising eight rowers has been preparing for a month at the training camp at Islamabad’s Rawal Lake. Only four among them will be selected for the event.

The global event will be held in Chungju from August 25 to September 1.

Seasoned rower Mohammad Akram said all the rowers went through rigorous preparations for the event.



“It’s a big event and we want to go fully prepared,” Akram told The Express Tribune.

The experienced campaigner set modest targets, saying that even though the title might be too far out of their reach, the team members will still try to give their best.

“It is the toughest rowing competition where the world’s top teams will lock horns. It will not be realistic to expect to win the title but we are still hoping to prove ourselves as a force to be reckoned with.”

He added that the ongoing Pakistan Olympics Associations (POA) tussle had affected the team’s preparation.

“We didn’t get assistance from the Pakistan Sports Board because our federation is affiliated with the Arif Hasan-led POA.”

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

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