Karate: Saadi Abbas to vie for South Asian crown

He is our strongest player, says national karate federation secretary.

KARACHI: After winning the US Open Championship earlier in April, Pakistan’s karate kid, Saadi Abbas, is looking forward to competing in the South Asian Championship in New Delhi, India on June 23.

The decorated athlete, who also became the first South Asian to win the Asian Championship in 2011 and went on to collect more accolades for the country, said that representing Pakistan is a joy and that he is currently training at the national camp with the local coaches in Islamabad.

Abbas also won the Commonwealth Karate Championships in 2010 and 2013.

“I’m here because of the break in my season and because I want to compete for my country,” Abbas told The Express Tribune.

“I’m here for my country and I also wanted to help my fellow players in the camp.”

Abbas is based in Dubai where he competes for the Al-Ahili Sports Club. He is a top athlete at his game and he will be competing in the 67-kg category.

According to the Pakistan Karate Federation (PKF) Secretary Shamim Hashmi, he will be pinning his hopes on Abbas.

“He is our strongest player ,so yes, we’ll be fielding him in the tournament and we’re hoping that he will win a gold for us,” said Hashmi.

“We also have other very talented players like Baz Muhammad in the 80-kg category. He won the South Asian Championship gold previously.”

Hashmi said that the team is expected to leave for India on June 19, while the federation has applied for the visas, and hopefully the entire squad will be able to go to the championship.

“We’ll be announcing the other members of our squad later, but we are hoping to get the visas soon. We have a good pool of players to choose from. Three of our coaches are working with 30 athletes since the last month-and-a-half to prepare them for the event.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2014.

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