4-member Pak taekwondo team to train for 15 days in South Korea

A four-member Pakistan taekwondo squad will leave for South Korea on March 11 to undergo a 15-day training, a senior official of Pakistan Taekwondo Federation (PTF) said. 

“Haroon Khan, Suleman and Naqsh Hamdani are being sent to South Korea,” PTF president Col Wasim Ahmed told ‘The News’.He said that various sponsors were supporting the Pakistan squad.

He said that Mohammad Asif would be accompanying the fighters as the coach. Pakistan’s board and lodging expenses will be met by World Taekwondo Promotion Foundation.Wasim said that during the last two and a half months the federation managed to send 60 fighters to different international events. “The government has stopped funding the federations. We have made it possible through our own efforts and I am thankful to all those who backed our national athletes,” Wasim said.

He said that Mehmood, Shahzeb and Mohammad Iqbal won bronze medals in the 9th Asian Club Championships held in the Olympic Sports Centre in Kish Island in Iran last month.

Iran and Russia dominated the event. Wasim said that Shahzeb (-54kg) and Haroon (-58kg) were on the radar of the PTF for the Olympic qualifiers. “One of them will be sent for the Olympic qualifiers. Haroon has a higher chance as he is highly talented,” the official said.