Shajar Abbas vows to do well at Asian Games, sets sights on Paris Olympics

Top athletes around the world have an army of support staff, which includes coaches, doctors and physiotherapists, around them whenever they participate in an international event but when Pakistan’s Shajar Abbas steps on the track during the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, he will be all alone.

While many officials from Pakistan Sports Board and the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination will be present at the Asian Games, Abbas’ coach Rana Sajjad, who has been instrumental to the athlete’s success, will be thousands of miles away.

Abbas is the fastest athlete in Pakistan but he doesn’t get treated like one since he competes in a sport which isn’t named cricket. While this is not meant to take anything away from cricketers in Pakistan, but it is a bitter truth that cricket gets nearly all the attention and backing from sponsors despite the fact that athletes from other sports have also made the country proud.

Despite the hurdles, Abbas, who will depart for China on September 26, is hopeful of putting up a good show during the Asian Games, where he will be competing in the 100m and 200m events.

Abbas broke his own national record at Asian Athletics Championship 2023 when he completed 100m in 10.37 seconds. Meanwhile, his personal best in the 200m is 20.87 seconds, which he achieved during the Qosanov Memorial 2022 in Almaty.

Abbas is also Pakistan’s first athlete to ever qualify for the Commonwealth Games 200m final, a feat which he achieved in Birmingham last year.

Abbas won a gold medal in 200m during the Imam Reza Cup in Mashhad, Iran, last year. The Kasur-born also bagged two medals in Kazakhstan, a 100m gold medal and 200m bronze, during the Qosanov Memorial Championships in 2022. He has also clinched many medals at the national level.

Asian Games also offers Abbas a chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024 but he will have significantly improve his timings if he wants to secure a spot in the prestigious event.

“The preparations are good and I will try to give my best during the event and win a medal for Pakistan,” Abbas told GeoSuper.tv.

“This [Asian Games] is a qualifying round for Olympics as well so I will try to perform to the best of my ability on the track.

“We don’t get proper facilities in Pakistan as compared to top athletes around the world.

“Also, I will be travelling alone and so won’t have the support of my coach [Rana Sajjad] during the Asian Games.”

It was earlier reported by The News that Athletics Federation of Pakistan plans to send Abbas to Jamaica, which is home to some of the best sprinters in the world, for training.

However, Abbas was not overly excited after hearing the news since he has been let down in the past.

“I was told about being sent abroad for training two to four times in the past but that didn’t materialise. Let’s see what happens this time,” he said.

He was also unsure about which competitions he will participate in after the Asian Games.

“I don’t know which competitions I will participate in after the Asian Games. In Pakistan we only get to know about the events we will participate in just one month before the event. Let’s see which events I will get a chance to feature in before the Olympics,” he said.

Maintaining a proper diet is essential for sprinters in order to ensure that they are able make the most of their potential on the track. They need to maintain low body fat levels while also ensuring adequate intake of nutrient-dense food to meet body’s requirements and allow for the development of muscle mass.

However, Abbas finds it difficult to cover all bases when it comes to nutrition.

“We do whatever we can to maintain a proper diet. However, it is difficult to fullfil all the requirements since we are mostly paying out of our own pocket,” he said.

With limited support from Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP), Sajjad urged investors to throw their weight behind Abbas.

“Investors are hesitant to invest in athletes other than cricket in Pakistan because they think they won’t get return on their investment,” said Sajjad.

“My entry for Asian Games was sent to Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) but they refused to sponsor me. I work as coach and physio of Shajar so he needed my support during the event.

“In case any incident happens during the event, the athletes find themselves in a difficult spot due to absence of coaches.”

POA claims that it can only support a limited number of athletes and support staff due to limited funds.

However, Sajjad was hopeful that Abbas can qualify for the 200m event of the Paris Olympics.

“Other athletes in 100m are around 9 seconds so it will be difficult for Shajar to secure a spot in that event. But I think Shajar can qualify for 200m in Olympics. We are preparing for 400m as well since it will help Shajar get better at 200m,” he added.

There are two ways for athletes to qualify for the Paris 2024 Games, with 50% of qualification places based on achieving the entry standard for an event within the qualification period, and the other 50% based on the World Athletics Ranking within the ranking period.

The qualification and ranking period for 100m and 200m will be between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024.

The entry standards approved by World Athletics Council for 100m is 10 seconds, while for 200m it is 20.16.

Qualification for the Olympics might be a distant dream for Abbas at the moment but, if he gets the necessary support, a bright future is in the offing.

Shajar Abbas’ schedule for Asian Games

100m

Round 1 – September 29

Semi and final – September 30

200m

Round 1 - October 1

Semi and final – October 2