LAHORE: Pakistan Karate Federation (PKF) is working on arranging a three-week training tour for its Asian Games-bound fighters and a senior official of the federation said they want to send the lot for training very close to the quadrennial event.
“We are seriously working on that. We want our fighters to go abroad for three weeks very close to the Asian Games so that they could return home and then fly to China immediately for the Asian Games,” PKF chairman Mohammad Jehangir told 'The News' here on Saturday.
“We want to send them by end of August as our event in the Asian Games is most probably on October 4 and 5. We want our fighters to train either in Iran or Turkey. Iran’s tour will be a bit cheap because we can save some money as we can cross the border and then will catch a flight to Tehran,” the official said.
“Asian Championship is being held in Malaysia from July 19 to 26 and there I will talk to Iranian officials and if it is done then okay and if it is not done then I am also in talks with Turkey. I am committed to manage a tour inshaAllah,” Jehangir said.
He said that Pakistan’s premier fighter and former Asian champion Saadi Abbas will also be part of that training tour.
Asked how much it will help the fighters to deliver in the Asian Games, Jehangir said he is hopeful that the tour will benefit the players.
“It’s always important to have a training tour ahead of such a big event like Asian Games. We hope that our young fighter Mohammad Awais is capable to strike there. He is just 21 years old and has also claimed bronze in the Asian Championship. Then there is Canada-based Saadi Abbas who is known for his tremendous exploits. I have recently talked to him and he says that he is solely focused on preparation for the Asian Games,” Jehangir said.
He said that draws also will count, adding they can assist the fighters and leave the rest to God Almighty.
Alam Zeb Safi Alam Zeb Safi is a senior reporter for The News