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KABUL, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) — At a Kabul-based coaching corridor, six Afghan athletes competed in pairs to follow martial arts with restricted tools amid roasting climate, absolutely ready for the nineteenth Asian Video games that opens on September 23 in Hangzhou.
In line with Afghanistan’s nationwide wushu group, the group will ship 4 athletes, a coach and a group chief to compete in wushu Sanda, a combating system primarily based on conventional kung fu and fashionable fight strategies.
Answerable for deciding on excellent athletes for the nationwide group, the Afghanistan Wushu Federation was initially established within the western province of Herat in 2000.
Coach Gulgul Shah Khalid mentioned that the federation has registered greater than 6,000 wushu athletes from 28 provinces. They’re now engaged within the occasions of wushu Sanda, in addition to Taolu, which refers to choreographed set routines of actions.
“We now have 44 athletes concerned within the nationwide group’s coaching day by day,” Khalid mentioned.
Mohammad Khalid Hotak, 30, is among the most outstanding wushu athletes on the group. Hotak was captivated by martial arts, or wushu, when he noticed the actions carried out by Chinese language motion movie stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li.
Going to China to take part in an Olympic occasion has all the time been a dream for Hotak.
“Wushu’s self-discipline is a message of peace, intimacy and friendship, and it creates peace and brotherhood,” Hotak mentioned.
In 2013, Hotak gained a bronze medal within the males’s Sanda 60 kg competitors on the twelfth World Wushu Championships held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It marked the primary medal he had gained in a global wushu occasion.
“I’ve competed with champions from China 4 instances. It’s a excellent expertise for me, and it additionally permits me to know the talents of Chinese language gamers,” Hotak mentioned, noting that he’ll be part of the lads’s Sanda 70 kg competitors in Hangzhou.
Hotak mentioned that wushu is a comparatively small sport in Afghanistan, and wushu athletes can’t obtain month-to-month pay like their soccer and cricket counterparts. Competing and profitable tournaments, championships and different video games is the one approach for them to earn a dwelling on this career.
“There are 11 individuals in our household. My father gave me the best assist. I’m delighted to proceed collaborating on this sport,” Hotak mentioned, attributing his motivation to hold on to his household’s assist.
“I’ll work more durable, proceed to win championships and medals, and achieve high-level competitions,” he mentioned, including that he hopes to introduce wushu to extra Afghans by his private endeavor.
Ehsan Ahmed Karukhil, the chief of the wushu group in Hangzhou, mentioned that it’s not a straightforward job to develop into a member of the nationwide wushu group like Hotak, and the choice of athletes to take part in worldwide competitions is even stricter.
The nationwide group usually selects representatives from every province first after which holds nationwide competitions to pick out 4 members. If the quota of athletes is lower than 4, extra competitions among the many 4 might be held to resolve on the ultimate candidates.
Karukhil has been a wushu coach for almost 28 years. In 2008, he grew to become a global martial arts referee. He has witnessed the glory and setbacks of Afghanistan’s martial arts.
He mentioned that the warfare has displaced many athletes, however many individuals nonetheless insist on coaching and bide their time. Resulting from a scarcity of funds to buy associated tools wanted for Taolu occasions, the group can solely take part in Sanda occasions now.
The athlete mentioned that almost all group members come from impoverished households, and plenty of athletes should do odd jobs earlier than and after coaching to subsidize their households.
“In reality, the extent of this Olympic occasion is increased. Afghan champions beforehand gained medals from such competitions, so it’s anticipated that we are going to have a optimistic and good consequence this 12 months as effectively,” Karukhil mentioned.
In line with an inventory from the bodily schooling workplace of Afghanistan’s Basic Directorate of Bodily Training and Sports activities, 17 sports activities groups, together with wushu, soccer, volleyball and cricket, will take part within the Hangzhou Asian Video games.
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