The country’s premier karateka Saadi Abbas failed to qualify for the Tokyo Games directly as he fell in the world qualifying event in Paris a few days ago.Saadi, a former Asian champion, fell in the first round against Estonian fighter and thus his dream of qualifying directly for the Olympics got shattered.

The two-time Commonwealth Championship gold medallist had worked hard for the Paris qualifiers, having trained for a couple of weeks in Kazakhstan. But he failed and it really hurt him.

“It has left me broken,” Saadi told ‘The News on Sunday’ (TNS) from Paris in an interview.

The top three fighters in each weight category were to make it to the Tokyo Olympics.

“I was not expecting such a loss. Something went wrong, maybe my preoccupation with qualifying for the Olympics or anything else has hit me. It’s tough for me,” Saadi said.

“I have my family with me here in Paris and so I conceal my inner feelings. I can tell you it has completely broken me. I have never been broken the way I feel now,” the US Open champion said.

This is for the first time that karate has been included in the Olympics. Saadi, who is now above 30, had every capability to make a cut but financial issues and Covid-19 affected his preparation and eventually his performance. He had a bright start to the qualifiers in early 2019, having upset some big fighters but failed to maintain his gloss due to long breaks in training because of Covid and other related issues. He was able to play qualifying events on the IOC scholarship. In the first step, he could not maintain rankings good enough to earn a seat in the Olympics when he faced exit from the Lisbon event a couple of months back. He prepared hard for Paris but again faltered .

Age is a big factor in Saadi’s failure and so is lack of finances. At this age, a fighter can maintain his standing if he is provided with the best nutrition and quality training and both were missing from his preparation chart. He did not have a coach with him. Most of his career he spent from his own pocket but now he is a married person and it is not within his reach anymore to spend on his training and diet.

It’s an eye opener for our sports authorities. Qualifying for the Olympics is not a joke. It needs huge investment. If we cannot do this then we should accept such failures.

It is not yet known whether Saadi will be able to get an IOC place. His name has already been sent for the purpose. But Saadi is not that optimistic. “It’s difficult,” Saadi said.

“In one or two days it will become clear,” he said.

But Pakistan Karate Federation (PKF) chairman Mohammad Jehangir hopes Saadi will be able to earn an IOC place. “There are four IOC places in the entire world for karate. Saadi is on the top in his weight keeping in view the policy of the IOC tripartite places. The Tokyo Olympics organisers, World Karate Federation (WKF) and IOC will decide these in two to three days,” Jehangir told TNS.

Saadi is in the final years of his career. He wants to play until the 2023 South Asian Games which Pakistan will host in Punjab.

But he will need a proper training programme as the next couple of years are loaded with big international events.

He will have to feature in the World Championships in November in Thailand, followed by the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, Asian Games, Islamic Games (all in 2021).

“Forget if somebody says I will now be able to feature in the World Championships on my own resources. I will need financial help and training expenses for that,” Saadi said. “If we are to play in SAG and excel there and other major events like Asian Games, Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games and others we will need proper training camps, along with foreign tours. Personally I have the experience and it will be a big boost if I am able to win laurels for the country and if I am able to end my career with some good performances which if I get an opportunity I want to do for my country,” Saadi said.

“I will come to Pakistan in July and will then sit with the Pakistan Karate Federation (PKF) chairman Mohammad Jehangir who is very kind and has always backed me during my career,” Saadi said.

“We need to take some solid decisions regarding our preparations for the coming major events. We will need the support of the government as we also will need a Turkish coach. If we hire a Turkish coach then we can win medals in the coming events. We have the stuff and I will also offer my services to the PKF in preparing a solid plan for the next two years,” Saadi said.

Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has already sought a two-year plan from the federations and it is expected that a quality training programme will be finalised to prepare the national contingent for the 2023 SAG. It will not just be preparation for the SAG but for all the events preceding the biennial event.

The PSB should be generous in financial support so that standard training plans could be finalised by the national federations.

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