Khurram Shahzad
ISLAMABAD:-President, Pakistan Taekwondo Federation (PTF), Col (Retd) Waseem Ahmad Janjua has revealed that PTF gets Rs. 2 million grant from Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) once a year, as this amount is not enough to run the affairs of federation.
While talking to this scribe during an exclusive sitting ex-army man added that without sponsorship sports could not be moved ahead at national and international level. “However, the taekwondo federation does a lot for the players to give them maximum national and international exposure and other support like equipment helmets, safeguards and gloves, which are vital for players to learn the basic skills of martial art, “he said.
Wasim Janjua further said that he was appointed as manager with Pakistan Taekwondo Federation during the 9th South Asian Games 2004, which took place in Islamabad. “Later on, Brigadier Arif Siddiqui and General Arif Hassan guided me and I got the responsibilities as the secretary of the Pakistan Taekwondo Federation, “he further said.
Responding to a question he said, “Pakistan joined the World Taekwondo Federation in 1977 after that PTF registered with the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) in 1982. When I joined the Pakistan Taekwondo Federation, the conditions of the game were very bad. No one was serious with taekwondo. I did not give up and continued to work hard. Today, by the grace of Allah, PTF is the only federation in Pakistan that has won a bronze medal in the Olympic Qualifying Round and our athletes have achieved great success in international competitions, “he said.
“I had the opportunity to attend a course in the United States in 2016 during which my thesis was "Promotion and Development of Taekwondo at Grass Root Level". It was a great experience. After completing the 45-day course, I worked for the promotion of this sport from the grass root level in the country. The development of any sport is not possible until this sport is started from the grass root level. PTF organized the competitions at Under 7,9,12,15,17,20 age group level, “he added.
Waseem Janjua, while replying another question, said, “There are about 100 clubs registered with us in the country which are present in all the provinces. They bear their own expenses while the federation also provides food including Traveling Allowance (TA) and Daily Allowance (DA) for participation in the national and international events. We also provide helmets, gloves and jackets. There are 213 countries registered with the World Taekwondo Federation from all over the world. Asia has the best taekwondo players in the world in which Iran is number one. Taekwondo is an Olympic sport and Pakistan has not yet qualified for the Olympics but a Pakistani athlete won a bronze medal in the Olympic qualifying round. According to the rules, gold and silver medal winning athletes qualify for the Olympics, “he concluded.
