‘Rescheduling of National Games a setback for athletes’

Islamabad: Former Pakistan badminton coach Raziuddin Ahmed on Friday said that the rescheduling of the 33rd National Games was a real setback for the athletes who were approaching their peak form.

“Players were in full form to perform in the 33rd National Games when the authorities announced new dates. Although it is only two weeks delay but it will badly affect the performance of the athletes who were in their peak to achieve targets,” Raziuddin told in an .

National Games were slated to be held at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from October 26 to November 1 but were rescheduled for November 9-14. “Many players were ready to set new national records or had planned for the gold but it was no doubt a setback for them when the Games were postponed for a couple of weeks,” said Razi, who was Pakistan’s badminton team coach in the 2010 Dhaka South Asian Games.

Razi is the most qualified coach of Pakistan, having done his Level-II from England, and also runs a badminton academy in Islamabad. “Authorities don’t know what a serious damage can occur in the body of sportspersons if they lose particular event days. This is one of the main reasons of decline of sports in Pakistan,” Razi pointed out. “Athletes prepare again and again for the tournaments which are never held on time. After transition state again preparation for the high performance may cause an injury,” said Razi, who has also got a diploma in sports injuries from St Johns Ambulance Hospital UK.

He said that female players may develop physical disorder. “Female players may suffer physical disorder which may cause worst presentation as it is quite difficult to set body muscle for the best in short time,” he said.

This was not the first time that the country’s biennial spectacle was postponed. Before the event was shifted from Quetta to KP early this year it was postponed several times due to security and financial issues of Balochistan who had been allotted the Games way back in 2012.

Razi was also coach of Pakistan team in the ISSF World Schools Badminton Championships in Malta in 2016. “Internationally the sports governing bodies have to pay fine for such type of delay and have to wait one whole year to get a place in the calendar,” he added.