Muhammad Abbas will be the first athlete from south Asia to participate in Alpine Skiing at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
Muhammad Abbas will be the first athlete from south Asia to participate in Alpine Skiing at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The 24-year-old from the northern Gilgit district is Pakistan’s lone representative in its historic first appearance at an Olympic Winter Games.
Abbas will compete on Tuesday, February 23, in the Men’s Giant Slalom, his only event at the Vancouver Games.
Eight Pakistani Alpine skiers trained under coach Zahid Farooq for nine weeks in Austria and completed 15 international races to try to qualify for the Games. Only Abbas scored sufficient points.
“We are proud of what Muhammad has achieved,” Pakistan NOC press attaché Tariq Paracha said. “He grew up in a village in the Himalayas and carved his first skis from wood.”
The Pakistan Air Force has been behind efforts to send athletes to the Winter Games. Air Force official Saheed Latif founded the Ski Federation of Pakistan and is its president.
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