January 18, 2006	Wednesday	Zilhaj 17, 1426

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

KARACHI, Jan 17: In a last ditch effort, Pakistan, once a powerhouse in Enterprise Class sailing boat, has proposed the regional body to include the boat in the Qatar Asian Games regatta being held at the fag end of the year.

The proposal will come up for discussion when the boats are finalised at the Asian Sailing Federation (ASAF) meeting which takes place at Qatar on March 24.

India and Sri Lanka were the two other nations which had supported the proposal put forward by Pakistan, secretary PSAF, Capt (retd) S. V. Hasan who will attend the meeting, said on Monday.

Records show that Pakistan had won four gold and three silver alone in Enterprise Class between 1978/2002.

Besides finalising the classes, the meeting would debate on broad basing the sport, development of facility in the region, staging more regional competitions and finalising age limit of 420 Class.

The ASAF moot would also grant affiliation to Bahrain Marine Sports Federation, Iraq Sailing Federation, The Royal Jordanian Marine Sports Federation and Palestine Sailing Federation.

Singapore’s suggestion for making ASAF permanent headquarter in their country in lines with the ISAF would also come up for discussion.

Qatar would also play host to the Asian sailing regatta in March ahead of the Asian Games.