The camps will be staged in Islamabad under the supervision of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). PHOTO: APP
KARACHI: The Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), backed by the government, will begin training camps for different disciplines today to prepare athletes for the third Islamic Solidarity Games, scheduled to take place from September 22 to October 2 in Indonesia.
The camps will be staged in Islamabad under the supervision of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB).
Decision regarding this was taken in a meeting at the POA office in Lahore, which was attended by the sectaries of federations of athletics, badminton, gymnastics, swimming, karate, tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, and wushu.
POA Secretary Khawaja Farooq Saeed presided over the meeting as the association’s President Akram Sahi was away from the country.
“The camp will continue to run close to the dates of the Islamic Solidarity Games so that athletes can achieve maximum momentum going into the event,” Farooq told The Express Tribune.
It should also be mentioned here that the POA is in continuous contact with the organisers and they will forward entries of players and officials by August 16.
POA confident hockey team will participate in CWG
Farooq added that he remained confident the national hockey team would participate in the 2014 Commonwealth Games (CWG), which will be played in Glasgow, Scotland.
There have been fears that a tussle between the government and the Arif Hasan led POA could harm the national team’s chances of participating in the event.
“We’re hopeful that the hockey team will appear in the 2014 CWG and the issue on hand will be resolved amicably,” he said.
“Membership to the Commonwealth is based on countries, not on the basis of their associations or federations. This is why we’re hopeful that our team will gain entry into the competition.”
The official explained that the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) is responsible for looking after matters concerning the Games and problems surrounding it. Thus, it was a matter not directly related to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“We respect the IOC, but the fact is the CGF is there to tackle this problem.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 15th, 2013.
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