LAHORE, March 13: A 51-member Pakistan athletics contingent, including 26 men, 13 women and 12 officials returned from Cochin, India, on Thursday after being placed third in the SAAF championship.

Pakistan grabbed three golds, seven silver and five bronze medals to finish third after India claimed the top spot with Sri Lanka second.

Zafar Iqbal, who claimed a gold medal in triple jump and was declared best athlete of the meet was sad about missing out on an opportunity for qualifying in the Olympics after just falling short of the qualifying distance.

“I worked hard for the championship to ensure my entry in the Beijing Games but it continues to remain a dream for me,” he said.

The other two gold medallists are Mohammad Imran (javelin throw) and Ghulam Shabbir (hammer throw).

Khalid Mahmood, secretary, Athletics Federation of Pakistan, said that although Pakistan finished third, the event has given the federation an idea of our weaknesses and the areas in need of foreign coaching.

“We are likely to hire some foreign coaches to hone our athletes’ skills for next year’s South Asian Games,” he added.