August 1, 2002	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 21,1423

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ISLAMABAD, July 31: Long distance athletic coach, Rana Nasrullah said Wednesday that Pakistani athletes did not stand a chance of winning any medals at the forthcoming Asian Games in Busan.

“If you look at things realistically, we do not have any chance whatsoever at the Games,” Nasrullah told Dawn at the Jinnah Stadium, the venue of the training camp.

“Lack of competitions at home is the main reason for this because without any competitive events, one cannot really judge the standards of the athletes.”

Nasrullah, who has been the national coach for four years, pointed out that the recent National Championship in Peshawar was held after two years, although it has to be organised annually. “It is because of this that we are unable to test the progress of athletes.”

He also stressed that the Pakistani athletes also needed to take part in meets abroad more often. “Our athletes are scared of competing on an international stage, and no coach has a solution to this.”

Nasrullah, a former Navy coach, said that six men and two women athletes were likely to be selected for the Asian Games after trials due to be held on Aug 16.

In the marathon, there is a strong competition between Army’s Naseer Ahmed and Waris Masih of Navy to earn a ticket to the Games that open on Sept 29.

Similarly in the 110m hurdles, either Malik Mumtaz of Army or Railway’s Abdul Rashid will be picked on the basis of their showing in the trials. Mumtaz is currently in Manchester for the Commonwealth Games.

There is a neck and neck competition in the 400m hurdles between Muhammad Amin and Allah Ditta, both of Army while Rana Ghufran Hussain of Wapda is likely to be sole shotputter.

At the camp in Islamabad, there are a total of 10 athletes while another 10 are training in Lahore.