Pakistan's prominent Karatika, Saadi Abbas to feature in 16th Senior Asian Karate Championship
Former Asian champion, Saadi Abbas of Pakistan will be targeting victory in the upcoming Senior Asian Karate Championship 2019 which will begin from tomorrow in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
An opportunity that will take Saadi very close to earning an Olympic seat at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Pakistan’s premier fighter Saadi Abbas is featuring in the Asian Karate Championship 2019 with all hopes and confidence.
Along with him. there are three more Pakistani fighters namely: Awais who will compete in the - 84 KG weight class and Naseer Ahmed who will feature in 67 KG weight category and Waqar Khan in 60 KG.
One gold and two bronze medals in the Asian Championships holder Saadi is eager to earn a spot in the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympic to which he said,
"Asia is tough but I have the experience of winning medals for three times in this event. Whenever I come here I come for a medal. Insha'Allah this time too I will try my best to lift a medal. It’s a tough event because on the Olympic rankings list, top seven to eight world’s leading fighters belong to Asia and I will have to beat all of them here. Let’s see how Allah decides."
Today weigh-in and draws will be held which will decide break-up of Saadi’s fights in the -75 KG weight category. Saadi’s current Olympic ranking is 21. He will need to come in top five at the end of the qualifying stage. Former Asian champion, Saadi has been participating in majority of the qualifying events for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2020 that has helped him keep his ranking. And after the continental event he will have to appear in a number of more qualifying events this year.
“After featuring in the National Championship in August, I will have to appear this year in three major events in Japan, Russia and Madrid in September, October and November respectively. Currently these are on my radar and then we will plan accordingly.” he said. the 31-year old Lyari-born fighter said.
As many as 340 fighters from 33 nations will feature in these Asian Championships. Pakistan Karate Federation’s (PKF) Chairman, Mohammad Jehangir is hopeful that Saadi would live up to the expectations.
“Saadi is our most experienced fighter and has been performing well throughout. I am optimistic that he will do his best again here." PKF Chairman said.
Pakistan’s three referees Naseem Qureshi, Ijaz-ul-Haq and Irfanullah Khan are also set to deliver their services in the competitions. Karate will make its debut on the Olympic program at Tokyo 2020, although it has been controversially overlooked for Paris 2024.
Saadi's collection of titles includes him being a former Asian champion, US Open gold medalist, two-time Commonwealth Championship gold medalist and another of his recent win of a gold medal in the Omar Bin Hayder Karate Cup 2019.
