KARACHI, 29 July 2004 — Pakistan is pinning its Athens Olympics medal hopes on field hockey and boxing, officials said yesterday as they announced the final squad of 26 athletes and 19 officials.
The 45-member contingent will leave on Aug. 3 for Athens where they feature in five disciplines of the Aug. 13-29 games.
“Pakistan earned places in field hockey and boxing through qualifying rounds, while participation in three disciplines — athletics, swimming and shooting — is owed to wild card entries,” said Brigadier Arif Mehmood Siddiqui, director-general of the Pakistan Sports Board.
“Our hockey team stands a good chance of winning an Olympic medal and boxers are also well prepared for medals.”
Pakistan has won only 10 Olympic medals, eight of them in field hockey, since its debut appearance in the 1948 London Olympics.
It won gold in Rome 1960, Mexico 1968, and Los Angeles in 1984 and has bagged three silver and two bronze medals in field hockey.
Wrestler Mohammad Bashir won a bronze in the 1960 Olympics while boxer Hussain Shah also bagged bronze in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Pakistan last week announced a 16-member hockey squad with Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans and five other officials.
Pakistan are placed in Pool A of the Olympics field hockey competition along with world champions Germany, Asian champions South Korea, Great Britain, Spain and Egypt.
Defending champions the Netherlands, Australia, Argentine, India, New Zealand and South Africa are placed in Pool B.
“We are in the pool of death but I am confident that my team will qualify for the semifinal,” Oltmans said before the team departed for Spain where they compete in a tri-nation event before going to Athens. The boxing team consists of five boxers — lightweight Asghar Ali Shah, bantamweight Meharullah, featherweight Sohail Baloch, light-welter Faisal Karim and middleweight Ahmed Ali Khan.
Pakistan’s boxing chances were hit badly after their top fighter Nauman Karim tested positive for drugs in the SAF Games in March.
Karim was deprived of an Olympic place and handed a one year ban.
Two women are in the squad: female athlete Sumaira Zahoor for the 200 meters sprint and Rubab Raza, 13, who will be Pakistan’s first female swimmer to take part in the Olympics. She will compete in the 50 and 100 meters freestyle races.
