KARACHI: “I am trying to do my best for my country, I want that medal,” Pakistan's two-time Commonwealth Champion Saadi Abbas vows, as he looks towards making history by winning the third gold in Birmingham. Saadi will take on Australia’s Mitchell Durham in the -75kg kumite on Thursday. The 33-year-old has been one of the best athletes Pakistan has produced in the last 10 years and he continues to inspire others. However, it seems that the Pakistani government and at times the cricket-loving nation only turns a blind eye to his incredible achievements that include 17 medals in international events. Saadi is the only Pakistani and South Asian to ever win the Asian Karate Championship and the only one to win the US Open.

He has also won two South Asian Karate Championships, won two gold medals in South Asian Games for Pakistan, last being in 2019, while proving himself to be the best the region has to offer for more than a decade. Saadi first won his Commonwealth Karate Championships in 2009 in South Africa, then in 2014 in Montreal, but despite serving his country relentlessly, Saadi did not receive any financial or moral support from the Pakistani government. He was forced not to take part in the 2016 Commonwealth Karate Championships because of the lack of funds and then the same thing happened to him in 2018.

Published in The Daily National Courier, September, 09 2022

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