June 24, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 23,1424

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ISLAMABAD, June 23: The Pakistan Weightlifting Federation, while appreciating the government for giving cash incentives to medal-winning players, has called upon them to acknowledge the services of the coaches too.

Secretary of the PWF, Muzaffar A. Qureshi in a letter written to sports minister Rais Munir Ahmed, has drawn his attention to coaching which he says is a “very important aspect of sport.”

“All the sportsmen who won medals at the Commonwealth and Asian Games and received cash awards for their performances, were trained by their coaches,” Muzaffar points out.

Weightlifter Muhammad Irfan who won three silver medals at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Manchester was awarded Rs 600,000 for his heroics. “He trained very hard for the event but it was because of his coach Khizer Hayat Raja that he achieved glory.”

Muzaffar said that after the departure of the Bulgarian coach in early 2002, Khizer had taken over the coaching and training of the national team. Previously he had been assisting the foreign coach since April 2000.”

He requested the minister to also honour the coaches who had trained the medal-winners of the Commonwealth and Asian Games.

Meanwhile Irfan was honoured separately by his employers Wapda on his return from the Games, who promoted him to Grade 17 besides giving him a cash award of Rs 150,000.