Islamabad
Female Pakistani taekwondo athlete Najia Rasool has grabbed two medals in the Asian Taekwondo Poomsae held in the Lebanese capital of Beirut.
Najia won the bronze medal in the over-17 Women Individual Freestyle category, with Korea’s Sangyoop Kim and Philippine’s Juvenile Crisostomo securing gold and silver medals.
Najia also grabbed the silver medal in the mixed team freestyle category. The Asian Poomsae event ended with Korea winning the most gold medals followed by Iran taking the second spot.
Expressing her views, Najia said the coaches had trained them with the latest rules and regulations for the mega event.
“Pakistan has too much Taekwondo talent, which which needs to be groomed and can result in more laurels for the country in the future.
The medal winners needs patronage from the government and private sector as it will boost the medals tally.
The federations, which are bringing laurels, should be supported by the government,” she said.
South Asian Taekwondo Association President Omar Saeed gave a dinner in honour of the Najia Rasool, which was attended by all the athletes participating in the mega event and officials.
Deputy Head of Mission Pakistan’s Embassy in Lebanon Aman Ullah also attended the dinner and said the athletes were the pride and real ambassadors of the nation.
Secretary General Pakistan Taekwondo Federation Murtaza Bangash, team manager Ashfaq Ahmad, newly Elected VP of WT Asia Iftikhar Tabassum were also present on the occasion.
Punjab Taekwondo Association’s Patron Sahil Chaudhry announced cash prizes of Rs 50,000 for the medal winners.
Meanwhile, the Asian Taekwondo Championship, Kyurogi event will be held from June 16-18 at the Nouhad Naufal Indoor Stadium. More than 25 countries will feature in the event.
Pakistani athletes will appear in eight weight categories, (6 men, 2 women) in which Shahzaib Khan in (-54 kg), Haroon Khan (-58 kg), Ammar Ashfaq (-68 kg), Rab Nawaz (-80 kg), Taimur Saeed (-87 kg), Hamza Omar Saeed (+87 kg), Syeda Hannah (-46 kg), and Ayesha Noor (-49 kg) will compete for the honor.
Shahzaib Khan will take on Saudi Arabia’s Riad Hamdi, Ammar Ashfaq will fight Mohammad Khusein Shomakhmadov from Tajikistan, Taimur Saeed will face off Korea’s Seung Hwan Lee, and Syeda Hannah will clash against Azamova Shokhsanam of Uzbekistan on Wednesday.—APP
