Abbas wins another gold for Pakistan
Athlete victorious at US Open Karate Championship in 67kg category<br />
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Abbas’ latest gold medal is a welcome addition to his string of achievements since 2010. PHOTO: PKF
KARACHI:
Pakistan’s young karate champion Saadi Abbas put another feather in his cap by winning a gold medal in the US Open Karate Championship 67kg category event in Las Vegas, US.
The competition was held from April 15-20, where Abbas beat players of Guatemala, US, Greece and Ecuador in the preliminary rounds and the semi-final.
He was involved in a tough final against home boy J Henry, but Abbas managed to come out a winner with a score of 4-2.
Abbas has also won gold medals in the Commonwealth Karate Championships that took place in South Africa and Montreal in 2010 and 2013 respectively.
Apart from those feats, he was also a gold medallist in the 11th Asian Karate Championship held in China, besides being crowned champion at the 2006 Asian Games.
He has the honour of being the only athlete from South Asia to win gold in the Asian Karate Championship.
The youngster credits his success to the training received at the Dubai-based Al-Ahali club, where he has won the Club World Cup twice.
For Abbas, only a world championship title remains to be achieved.
Pakistan Karate Federation (PKF) Secretary Shamim Hashmi praised him for achieving yet another medal for Pakistan.
“It’s a proud moment for Abbas and all of us,” Hashmi told The Express Tribune.
“He had been working quite hard in training, which reflects in his performances at competitive tournaments. He has proven himself a beacon for Pakistan in the last couple of years, and I pray that he will continue to dazzle in the future as well.”
Hashmi added that he had a conversation with Abbas after his achievement and the karateka was over cloud nine on winning another gold medal with ease.
Reflecting on Abbas’ ambition of achieving gold in the world championship, Hashmi felt that the player was on the right course to realise his target.
“It all depends on how you train to achieve big goals and he has been fantastic in his training.”
Published in The Express Tribune, April 22nd, 2014.
Pakistan’s young karate champion Saadi Abbas put another feather in his cap by winning a gold medal in the US Open Karate Championship 67kg category event in Las Vegas, US.
The competition was held from April 15-20, where Abbas beat players of Guatemala, US, Greece and Ecuador in the preliminary rounds and the semi-final.
He was involved in a tough final against home boy J Henry, but Abbas managed to come out a winner with a score of 4-2.
Abbas has also won gold medals in the Commonwealth Karate Championships that took place in South Africa and Montreal in 2010 and 2013 respectively.
Apart from those feats, he was also a gold medallist in the 11th Asian Karate Championship held in China, besides being crowned champion at the 2006 Asian Games.
He has the honour of being the only athlete from South Asia to win gold in the Asian Karate Championship.
The youngster credits his success to the training received at the Dubai-based Al-Ahali club, where he has won the Club World Cup twice.
For Abbas, only a world championship title remains to be achieved.
Pakistan Karate Federation (PKF) Secretary Shamim Hashmi praised him for achieving yet another medal for Pakistan.
“It’s a proud moment for Abbas and all of us,” Hashmi told The Express Tribune.
“He had been working quite hard in training, which reflects in his performances at competitive tournaments. He has proven himself a beacon for Pakistan in the last couple of years, and I pray that he will continue to dazzle in the future as well.”
Hashmi added that he had a conversation with Abbas after his achievement and the karateka was over cloud nine on winning another gold medal with ease.
Reflecting on Abbas’ ambition of achieving gold in the world championship, Hashmi felt that the player was on the right course to realise his target.
“It all depends on how you train to achieve big goals and he has been fantastic in his training.”
Published in The Express Tribune, April 22nd, 2014.