Daily Times

LAHORE: Eight Pakistan swimmers will be representing the country at the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. The swimming competition will be held at the GBK Aquatic Center in Jakarta from August 19 to 24. Four years ago, China finished atop the swimming event with a whopping 47 medals (22 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze), while Japanese swimmers finished one medal behind them. Pakistan are yet to win a medal in swimming, with Nisar Ahmed,Nasir Ali, Muhammad Asif, Muhammad Saad, Anushe Dinyar Engineer, Simrah Nasir, Soha Sanjrani and Areeba Shaikh participating last time around.

The Pakistan Swimming Federation (PSF) has made sweeping changes this time around, selecting all new faces for the Asian Games. Syed Tariq Haseeb is the big medal hope, having recently earned recognition at the Gold Cost Commonwealth men’s 50m backstroke category. The Karachi-born swimmer finished in 12th place in the semi-finals. The other swimmers are Muhammad Yahya, Khawas Bahram Aga, Hamza Malik, Imaal Ahmed, Mishael Aisha Ayub, Bisma Khan and Mirall Zahara Huq. Coach Ghulam Murtaza is in charge of the young squad.

“We are expecting good results from Tariq, Bisma and Imaal since all three have the ability to do well,” said PSF president Majid Waseem. “The federation sent Bisma to Thailand for training, while Imaal has been training in the US. Tariq has already proven his worth at the Commonwealth Games, while Bismah and Imaal are national champions.” The Pakistan swimming team will reach Jakarta a day before the opening ceremony.

Published in Daily Times, August 5^th 2018.