Pakistan to host G1, South Asian Taekwondo in Oct 2020.

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan will host G1 and First South Asian Taekwondo Championship simultaneously in October 2020, which will help taekwondo flourish in Pakistan.

It was announced by newly-elected President of South Asian Taekwondo Association (SATA) Umer Saeed, along with Pakistan Taekwondo Federation (PTF) President Col (R) Wasim Ahmed Janjua and Secretary Murtaza Bangash, during the press conference held here at Pakistan Sports Complex Media Centre on Tuesday. Umer said: 'It was long felt that an association of South Asia must help the game flourish in this region, as there were already associations working in different regions.

'Col Wasim flouted the idea during the 13th SAG in Nepal. I am highly grateful that I was nominated by Col Wasim and special thanks to India and hosts Nepal, who not only welcomed the idea, but also wholeheartedly backed us, as without their support, Pakistan could never earn the honor of being elected president of the association. We also have Secretary Murtaza Bangash and member Shamim Akhtar from Pakistan and soon we will sit and discuss with other countries and announce other office-bearers,' he added.

Umer said he has been elected as SATA President for two years while Sri Lanka is going to host next SAG in 2021. 'They will get SATA President slot automatically and it will pass on to other members as well. The basic aim and challenge at the moment for me is to spread this wonderful Olympics sports to every corner of the country and also start exchange programmes with member countries. Nepal is the hub of world taekwondo activities and we want to take benefit from their expertise.

'The recently-concluded 14th Korean Ambassador National Taekwondo championship has unearthed lot of talent. We have noted the top performers like Shahzaib and a few girls, who, if provided with best facilities and training, can excel for the country at international level. We have participated in 19 top international events this year, while we also took part in Manchester World Championship, where we managed to win silver and bronze medals, while in 13th SAG in Nepal, we won 3 gold, 7 silver and as many bronze medals, which I think is tremendous achievement of our athletes and speak volumes about how much the PTF is active in highly limited resources.

'The federation has not missed a single mega event and also hired top Korean coach for our athletes, who is waiting for salary for last two months. The file is pending with the IPC and the...

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