Balochistan — Pakistan’s canoe-it-all province
Interest in canoeing and kayaking continues to grow exponentially in Quetta
New frontiers: More and more youngsters in Balochistan are dabbling in water sports. Photo courtesy: Hayatullah Durrani
KARACHI:
The province of Balochistan holds many secrets in its heart. And in the heart of its biggest city, Quetta, canoeing and kayaking continue to gain popularity as events are held at Hanna Lake whenever possible, with the number of participants increasing by the minute.
The Baloch are no strangers to sports — they have produced some of the country’s finest footballers and boxers. Now, in Abu Bakar Durrani, they have produced one of its finest kayakers. Durrani will be taking part in the International Canoeing Federation World Championships in Italy in June, and he feels that his practice at Hanna Lake will hold him in good stead.
The 19-year-old won three gold medals at the recently concluded Hayatullah Water Sports Academy Championships in Quetta at the Pakistan Day Sports Festival.
But Durrani does not believe that there is a dearth of interest for the sport. He feels there are many like him who want to take up water sports, adding that kayaking and canoeing in particular have been gaining popularity.
“I really want to prove that Pakistan has a future in canoeing and kayaking,” Durrani told The Express Tribune. “For me, it all began here in Quetta as I trained at the academy. It is the only club in all of Balochistan with proper facilities.”
Now Durrani has his eyes set on the upcoming world championships. “I want to go to Italy and win at least one medal,” he said. “This will be the best way to prove that we have water sport athletes in the country and the government might take notice. We have a lot of talent here in Quetta alone.”
With the thrilling nature of the sport attracting the younger generation, Durrani believes the future of the sport is bright in the country. “There is a change in the trend, and it is mostly the youth in Quetta who want to pursue the sport,” he said. “So far, I’ve seen that kayaking is a bit more popular compared to canoeing.”
Nor is the sport restricted to just one gender, and all that it needs now, feels Durrani, is the support of the government. “We also have female athletes dabbling in the sport. The important thing is to hold more tournaments and get some support from the government,” he said. “We try to hold events on every national holiday, but we need more of these activities if we want to compete internationally.”
While he trains every day, Durrani admitted that the water levels at the Hanna Lake can be a hindrance at times. But for all his hard work, the aspiring software engineer knows that in order to win a medal at the world championships, he would need to improve on his time and is hoping for helpful weather conditions and water levels at Hanna Lake.
“Sometimes we need to compromise because of the water levels since they decrease,” said Durrani. “For now my best time in Kayak 1 200-metre event is 38 to 40 seconds. I need to improve and try to cover the distance in 36 seconds.”
Durrani is not the only one in his family associated with the sport. Indeed it was his father — who has been running the academy in Quetta since 1986 — who introduced him to the sport at a tender age.
Like his son, Hayatullah, believes the number of participants in local events continues to grow by the minute.
Hayatullah is particularly happy to see female participants in the sport, with as many as 36 of the 70 participants in the Water Sports Championship last month being female. “Women are dabbling in water sports in Quetta and I’m very happy about it we have girls coming from Pashtun and Baloch families,” said Hayatullah. “We’ve worked hard on this aspect. We went to their families and assured them that their daughters will be protected and taken care of. I believe getting these girls here is an achievement in itself.”
But like most sports in Pakistan, canoeing and kayaking are also suffering from a lack of funds. The veteran adventure sportsman said that Balochistan has only one water sports facilities and the total cost of the equipment for kayaking and canoeing at the academy is a whopping Rs25 million. “It is an expensive sport, but it’s more about the spirit of the athletes,” he said. “We’ve made sure that interested youngsters can just walk in and train. I believe that is the best strategy to promote a sport.”
It has been a long and hard journey of nearly three decades for Hayatullah and while it has paid dividends — not least in the form of a son who will be representing his country at the world championships — but he needs help from the relevant authorities. The Durranis can only stay above the water for so long on their own.
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The province of Balochistan holds many secrets in its heart. And in the heart of its biggest city, Quetta, canoeing and kayaking continue to gain popularity as events are held at Hanna Lake whenever possible, with the number of participants increasing by the minute.
The Baloch are no strangers to sports — they have produced some of the country’s finest footballers and boxers. Now, in Abu Bakar Durrani, they have produced one of its finest kayakers. Durrani will be taking part in the International Canoeing Federation World Championships in Italy in June, and he feels that his practice at Hanna Lake will hold him in good stead.
The 19-year-old won three gold medals at the recently concluded Hayatullah Water Sports Academy Championships in Quetta at the Pakistan Day Sports Festival.
But Durrani does not believe that there is a dearth of interest for the sport. He feels there are many like him who want to take up water sports, adding that kayaking and canoeing in particular have been gaining popularity.
“I really want to prove that Pakistan has a future in canoeing and kayaking,” Durrani told The Express Tribune. “For me, it all began here in Quetta as I trained at the academy. It is the only club in all of Balochistan with proper facilities.”
Now Durrani has his eyes set on the upcoming world championships. “I want to go to Italy and win at least one medal,” he said. “This will be the best way to prove that we have water sport athletes in the country and the government might take notice. We have a lot of talent here in Quetta alone.”
With the thrilling nature of the sport attracting the younger generation, Durrani believes the future of the sport is bright in the country. “There is a change in the trend, and it is mostly the youth in Quetta who want to pursue the sport,” he said. “So far, I’ve seen that kayaking is a bit more popular compared to canoeing.”
Nor is the sport restricted to just one gender, and all that it needs now, feels Durrani, is the support of the government. “We also have female athletes dabbling in the sport. The important thing is to hold more tournaments and get some support from the government,” he said. “We try to hold events on every national holiday, but we need more of these activities if we want to compete internationally.”
While he trains every day, Durrani admitted that the water levels at the Hanna Lake can be a hindrance at times. But for all his hard work, the aspiring software engineer knows that in order to win a medal at the world championships, he would need to improve on his time and is hoping for helpful weather conditions and water levels at Hanna Lake.
“Sometimes we need to compromise because of the water levels since they decrease,” said Durrani. “For now my best time in Kayak 1 200-metre event is 38 to 40 seconds. I need to improve and try to cover the distance in 36 seconds.”
Durrani is not the only one in his family associated with the sport. Indeed it was his father — who has been running the academy in Quetta since 1986 — who introduced him to the sport at a tender age.
Like his son, Hayatullah, believes the number of participants in local events continues to grow by the minute.
Hayatullah is particularly happy to see female participants in the sport, with as many as 36 of the 70 participants in the Water Sports Championship last month being female. “Women are dabbling in water sports in Quetta and I’m very happy about it we have girls coming from Pashtun and Baloch families,” said Hayatullah. “We’ve worked hard on this aspect. We went to their families and assured them that their daughters will be protected and taken care of. I believe getting these girls here is an achievement in itself.”
But like most sports in Pakistan, canoeing and kayaking are also suffering from a lack of funds. The veteran adventure sportsman said that Balochistan has only one water sports facilities and the total cost of the equipment for kayaking and canoeing at the academy is a whopping Rs25 million. “It is an expensive sport, but it’s more about the spirit of the athletes,” he said. “We’ve made sure that interested youngsters can just walk in and train. I believe that is the best strategy to promote a sport.”
It has been a long and hard journey of nearly three decades for Hayatullah and while it has paid dividends — not least in the form of a son who will be representing his country at the world championships — but he needs help from the relevant authorities. The Durranis can only stay above the water for so long on their own.
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