KARACHI: Once considered as a force to be reckoned with in the region, Pakistan is back on the sailing front after a layoff when it plays hosts to the five-day International Military Sports Council (CISM) sailing event which will be inaugurated at the Marina Club on Friday evening.

Pakistan is among 11 nations who will vie for honours in the J80 keel boat for match racing which will be contested on round robin league.

Other 10 nations whose teams have arrived here are Bahrain, Fin­land, Iran, Netherlands, Norway, Palestine (observer), Poland, Qatar, Russia and Ukraine.

Pakistan has named a five-member team for the event which includes CPO/PTI Najeebullah, CPO/PTI Qasim Abbas, CPO/PTI Khalid Hussain, PO/PTI Rehman­ullah Khan and LPT Tariq Ali.

“The home sailors have been tuned well by two foreign coaches and likely to finish among the top three,” Principal Race Officer retired Capt A. R. Arshad told Dawn.

The former Pakistan Sailing Federation (PSAF) secretary said first Russell groomed them about boat handling and currently Bill O’ Hara is imparting rules and tactics.

It is pertinent to mention that this is the third time that Pakistan will be playing host to the CISM sailing the previous two occasions being 1992 and 1995.

Besides, Pakistan has successfully played host to the CISM Pentathlon in the past. The opening will be followed by four-day competition that concludes on Nov 1.

Naval chief Admiral Zakaullah is himself a veteran sailor of repute and had won the gold medal in Enterprise class twice at the 1986 Seoul and 1990 Beijing Asian Games together with retired Capt Munir Sadiq besides winning other laurels.

Meanwhile, different committees have been formed to organise the event in a befitting way.

Organising committee: Commander Karachi Rear Admiral Farrokh Ahmed (chairman), Cdre Shoail Ahmed (vice chairman), Cdre Ali Abbas (director admin and logistics at shore), Cdre Adnan Ahmed (director operations) and Cdre Tariq Mahmood (director security and logistics at sea).

Race management committee: Principal Race Officer retired Capt A. R. Arshad (Pakistan), Race Officer Col Sameer Showaiter (Bahrain), Result manager and technician Kacem Ben Jemia (Bahrain).

Panel of umpires: International judge Neven Baran chief referee (Croatia), Vladimir Pavlov (Russia), Jean Pierre Cordonnier (France), Martin Clasen (Germany), Francisco Quinonero (Spain), Philip Mostyn (Australia).

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2016