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| November 12, 2003 | Wednesday | Ramazan 16, 1424 |
Pakistan likely to play series against Iran
KARACHI, Nov 11: Pakistan are likely to play a volleyball series against Iran in February next year as a part of their preparations for the 2004 SAF Games to be held in Islamabad.
A source in the Pakistan Volleyball Federation (PVF) said on Tuesday that the top PVF officials were certain that a series against Iran was feasible and would be useful for their team ahead of the 9th SAF Games to be held from March 27 to April 5.
The PVF officials are in fact negotiating with the SAF Games Organising Committee to fund the five-match series against the Iranians.
Once the PVF gets the go-ahead from the Games’ Organising Committee, which has been funding training projects of most of the national teams for the SAF Games, then the federation will sort out the details of the proposed series with their Iranian counterparts.
The Iranians are considered to be a very competitive team on the Asian volleyball circuit which is why the PVF wants to hold a series against them ahead of the SAF Games.
Apart from the proposed series against Iran, another option for the training of the national team for the SAF Games is to hold an international tournament in Pakistan involving around four to six nations just weeks before the SAF Games.
According to the source, the PVF has sent both the suggestions to the SAF Games Organising Committee for consideration.
Pakistan’s top 30 players are already training extensively in Islamabad for the SAF Games where the hosts biggest rival will be India.
The PVF is expected to shortlist the SAF Games probables to 20 by the end of this year before announcing the final 16 for the eight-nation regional extravaganza in February next year.
The skills and talents of the SAF Games probables will be put to test at the 39th National Volleyball Championship to be held at the Liaquat Gymnasium in December.
The PVF has already allowed all the 30 SAF Games probables to play in the National Championship for their respective departments. The performance of the players in the championship will play a major role in their selection in the SAF Games squad.
Top national volleyball officials are confident that with the right kind of training, the Pakistani team can have good chances of winning the SAF Games gold medal.
The reason for the optimisim is the national team’s impressive performance in the recently-concluded Asian Volleyball Championship where Pakistan recorded a memorable win over former world champions Japan.—PPI
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