KARACHI: Athletic Fitness School (AFS) has produced over 4,000 athletes including women since its inception over four decades ago and will continue to carry out the mission in the days ahead.

“I’m proud that the sapling that was planted in 1977 has grew into a big tree and the next generation has come up to learn about fitness and leading a good life,” the 82-year-old veteran international athlete and founder of the institution Mohammad Talib told a select gathering at the closing ceremony of the 37th annual summer camp at the Abdul Sattar Edhi Stadium on Saturday.

Some 90 budding boys and girls across the city registered for training and 60 successfully completed the three-week free-of-cost course under the supervision of Talib.

Besides the participants, the closing ceremony was attended by ex-pupils of the school namely former Pakistan high jumper Noor-ul-Hasan, former national and international 400m champion and Mehboob Dawood, former senior athlete Shah Naeem Zafar, Naeem Rasheed and families.

Recalling the history, Talib informed the participants that he had the honour of training Pakistan athletics, hockey, boxing, cricket, squash and football teams over the last five decades and played a key role in helping the country bring home 26 gold medals including Mumbai Hockey World Cup and Los Angeles Olympics.

He thanked Prof Dr Syed Arshad Hussain for sponsoring the camp and the Pakistan Hockey Federation for facilitation.

Speaking on the occasion, former manager sports KPT, Shah Naeem Zafar, who graced the occasion, paid glowing tributes to his mentor besides recalling how the Sindh quartet managed to beat top Punjab team to clinch 4x100m relay gold at the Bhutto Youth Festival at Islamabad in 1976, thanks to the training of Talib and accurate batting changing.

Gold medals named after eminent athletes of the yore Abdul Khaliq and Ghulam Raziq were distributed among outstanding athletes besides cash prizes.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2018