LAHORE: After finishing fourth in the recently concluded Asian Games in Hangzhou Pakistan’s number two javelin thrower Mohammad Yasir Sultan is now undergoing training at the Punjab Stadium Lahore for featuring in the Asian Throwing Championship slated to be held in South Korea from October 24 to 25.
Yasir had injured his left elbow during the Asian Games but now the relevant officials say that he is fit.
“We also managed throws the other day and as such there was no issue,” Yasir’s coach Fayyaz Hussain Bukhari told The News.
Yasir’s main aim is to qualify for the Paris Olympics to be held next year. Yasir has several opportunities at his disposal to achieve the milestone until June 30, 2024, a timeline which has been set for the purpose by the World Athletics. The qualifying standard is 85.50 metre.
The country’s premier javelin thrower and world silver medallist Arshad Nadeem qualified for the Paris Olympics with a massive throw of 87.82 metre in the World Athletics Championships in Hungary the other month.
Bukhari said that he is preparing Yasir with the sole aim to guide him into the Paris Olympics.
“Our main aim is to see Yasir travel to Paris for featuring in the Olympics next year inshaAllah,” Bukhari said.
”In the Asian Games Yasir did not play as per plans and also developed an injury and if he shows little bit of maturity then I am sure he will pull off his best throw in Korea,” said Bukhari, who guided Arshad to the Tokyo Olympics where he finished fifth.”
“Yasir has been under my supervision for the last nine months. I worked on him with devotion which enabled him to come out of the 75m zone and then won bronze in the Asian Championship in Bangkok with a throw of 79.93 metre before finishing fourth in Asian Games where elbow issue also damaged his cause,” Bukhari said.
But quite surprisingly Bukhari is not being sent with Yasir to Korea and former international hurdler Asghar Gill will be going with him as an official. They will leave on October 21. This may affect Yasir’s performance. But Asghar Gill said that he will look after Yasir properly.
“I am Pakistan’s chief coach and besides a former hurdler I am also level-3 throwing coach,” Gill told this correspondent.
Asked whether a communication gap between Yasir and him will not create issue in Korea Gill said that he meets Yasir daily and is also well-connected with his coach Bukhari.
“I don’t think there will be any issue,” Gill said.
The Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) had also dropped Bukhari as a coach after Arshad finished fifth in the Tokyo Olympics.
During Hangzhou Asian Games, Bukhari acted as coach of the national athletics contingent. Although he was not AFP’s choice, it was Pakistan Olympic Association which managed accreditation for him.
However, after the Asian Games a top official of the AFP told Bukhari to keep imparting training to Yasir for the Asian Throwing Championship despite the fact that Gill will be going with him to Korea as official.
Alam Zeb Safi Alam Zeb Safi is a senior reporter for The News
