By IANS
Karachi : The Pakistan Swimming Federation (PSF) is to conduct three training camps with an Australian coach to prepare for the 2009 South Asian Federation (SAF) Games.
The camps will be simultaneously conducted from Sep 23 at Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
“Leading swimmers of the country would be put in these camps, along with emerging youngsters who would benefit from the experience of their senior colleagues,” The News Sunday quoted PSF secretary Majid Wasim as saying.
Australian Steven Bewick would be the head coach during the preparatory stages of the camps that will run till the SAF Games. The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and the Pakistan Sports Trust (PST) would assist the swimming federation in bearing the expenses of the camps.
According to Majid, the lack of a sound base for swimming in Pakistan had prompted the federation to work harder with youngsters and to strive to impart quality training through qualified coaches.
Asked about the prospects of Pakistani swimmers at the SAF Games that Bangladesh will host, Majid said he was optimistic they would deliver “satisfactory performances”.
In this context, he referred to the just-concluded South Asian Swimming Championship in Islamabad where Pakistan had won their first ever gold medal at the South Asian level.
“If Pakistan can produce such good results after one-and-a-half months of training, what would be the performance of Pakistan’s swimmers in the coming SAF Games, if they are put into camps one-and-a-half years before the event,” Majid stated.
Pakistan’s leading woman swimmer Kiran Khan claimed the gold medal in the 50 metres butterfly event at the South Asian Championships.