ISLAMABAD, Oct 28 The Pakistan Basketball Federation has selected 20 players for the 11th South Asian Games with a claim to reach the podium.

The games are to be held from Jan 29 to Feb 8 in Dhaka.

“Pakistan will reach the podium by the grace of God,” claimed Naseem Butt, secretary general of the federation.

“The national players, with an average height of six feet, will be trained by an army coach at the Pakistan Sports Complex here from the first week of November,” he said.

The official added that they were “yet to receive a letter from the Pakistan Sports Board to start the training camps in Islamabad.”

Asked to comment over the continued decline of the sports, he asserted “With minimum resources and financial suppor, the federation is still doing a better job.”

He added “We are holding more national men and women championships than any other federation.”

Naseem, also a former national champion, said, “Our last international appearance was in the first Islamic Solidarity Games held in Saudi Arab in 2005.”

The national squad had claimed 15th position in the Islamic Games and were ranked even lower than Palestine, Syria, Chad, Yemen and Libya.

He said “We are actively working to revive the sport and our targets are very clear.

“We will be holding open trails before selection of the final squad so that we can find the best players.”

Asked whether the PBF would hire the services of foreign coach, Naseem informed “Hiring a foreign coach is not an economical step and the ongoing finances are not enough to hire anyone from abroad.”

Players

Nawazish Ali, Pervez Khan, Mudassar Khan, Khalid Ahmed, Ammar, Prem Shehzad, Ahmed Jan, Mohammad Akhtar, Niamatullah, Ghulam Murtaza, Rashid Minhas, Mohsin Khan, Ghulam Mustafa, Zahid Ahmed, Gul Hasan, Asfandyar, Arif Khan, Hammad Khan, Talha Amjad, Abid Hussain.