PKF to field six fighters in Tashkent championship

KARACHI: Pakistan Karate Federation (PKF) has decided to field six fighters in the 18th Senior, 20th Cadet, Junior and Under-21 Asian Championships pencilled in for December 16 to 20 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

“Yes, we will send six fighters to the continental event,” the PKF chairman Mohammad Jehangir told ‘The News’ on Tuesday.

Abdul Hadi, Mohammad Farooq, Humayun, Mohammad Mehdi, Shehram Hussain and Rehmatullah are the fighters who are set to feature in the continental event in various categories.

Hadi, who belongs to Rawalpindi and recently won two bronze medals in the 6th South Asian Championship in cadet category, will feature in the cadet event of the Tashkent slots.

Mohammad Farooq from Karachi, who is a national champion, will flex his muscles in the +84 kiogramme in both the Under-21 and senior categories.

Humayun, who is from Army, will compete in the -60kg senior category. He recently won gold in the South Asian Championship in Colombo.

Mohammad Mehdi from Police will compete in kata in the senior category. Shehram Hussain from Quetta, who lost in the quarter-finals in the World Junior and Cadet Championship in Turkey, will compete in the -57kg cadet category and individual kata.

Rahmatullah from Army will flex his muscles in the -67kg senior slots. Ghulam Ali will serve as manager while Mohammad Kashif will act as a coach. Kashif will also attend the referees course during the event.

Faqeer Hussain, Imtiaz Ali, Ijaz-ul-Haq, Irfan Nayab and Chaudhry Ahsan will also attend the referees course.

Zubair Ali will attend the coaching course during the continental event.

Jehangir hoped that Farooq will pull off a surprise in the event. “Farooq is highly talented and has a good height.

I have expectations from him but it also depends on draws. If he gets some good draws then the things can go in his favour,” Jehangir said. He said that the referees will fly out of Islamabad for Tashkent on December 10 and the fighters will proceed on December 13 as their registration will be made on December 14.

Jehangir will move to Tashkent in order to attend the Executive Committee meeting of the Asian Karate Federation (AKF) on December 14. On December 15 he will also attend the AKF Congress.

Asked why the country’s seasoned fighter Saadi Abbas was missing from the squad, Jehangir said he wants to return after a solid preparation.

“He told me that he did not want to go to Tashkent as he wants a proper preparation so that he could get a medal in the Asian Games to be held next year,” Jehangir said.

Since returning from Colombo after featuring in the South Asian Championship a few days ago, all the Tashkent-bound fighters have been training in their respective clubs.

They will assemble in Rawalpindi in a couple of days to proceed to Uzbekistan for the continental event.

The last edition of the AKF Championships was held in Almaty last year. Iran topped the final medal table with 49 medals, followed by Kazakhstan and Japan.

Article source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1017584-pkf-to-field-six-fighters-in-tashkent-championship