South Asian Judo from today

Pakistan Judo Federation (PJF) President Shujhat Ali Rana announced on Monday that the ninth South Asian Judo Championship would commence from Tuesday (today) here at Laiquat Gymnasium, Pakistan Sports Complex.
While taking to reporters in a press conference at a local hotel, he said that apart from hosts Pakistan, all six judo playing countries would show their mettle in the four-day international fixture. “Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Nepal have arrived in Islamabad while the remaining two teams India and Bangladesh will arrive late night on Monday to take part in the competition,” he added.
Rana further said that Punjab Governor Mohammad Latif Khusa would likely be the chief guest in the opening ceremony that would take place at the venue on Tuesday evening. “Children will perform in the opening ceremony and the culture of all the four provinces will be presented in the ceremony. All arrangements have been given the final touches,” he said.
He said that Pakistan would contest in all seven men’s and five women’s disciplines. “Pakistan won three gold, three silvers and one bronze medal in the last edition of the South Asian Judo Championship which was held in Bangladesh in 2010. The championship had only five male and three female events. India will defend their title,” he said.
“Now, in the ninth edition of the regional judo competition, the numbers of disciplines have been enhanced and the Federation is expecting good results from athletes. We held the training camp under competent coaches at the venues to improve the skills of the selected boys and girls to get notable performances from the national outfits during the South Asian Judo Championship 2011,” he said.
Answering a question regarding security concerns, Shujhat Ali Rana said that full security would be provided to all the visiting teams during their trip. “We are taking measures to provide foolproof security to our guests. It is nice for us that the Indian team is visiting Pakistan for international events. PJF has broken the ice by organising international competitions in Pakistan. Now, other national federations should also work to hold international events in Pakistan,” he maintained.