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Pakistan short on medal prospects for Asian Games

KARACHI (AFP) - Pakistani sports officials are hoping that recent off-field problems will count for little once their athletes start their campaign for medals in the Doha Asian Games.

Two of key medal hopes in boxing - Meheraullah Lassi and Faisal Karim - tested positive after winning gold in the South Asian Federation Games in Colombo, Sri Lanka in August and have been banned for six months.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's chances of success in the field hockey were hit when it had to sack five of its top hockey players who ditched them for league hockey.

Despite these adverse circumstances, Pakistan Olympic Association President Arif Hasan said he was optimistic Pakistan could build on the one gold, three silver and a bronze that they won in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games this year.

"Noone can predict how many medals Pakistan will win but we hope for better performances," said Hasan, a retired army general who raised huge funds through the national lottery to form the Pakistan Sports Trust two years ago.

The Trust not only hired foreign coaches to improve the sports infrastructure here but arranged foreign tours for their 144 male and five female athletes, who will compete in 22 sports in Doha. Lassi will be sorely missed.

He won Pakistan's only gold medal in the 2002 Asian Games held in South Korea and further built his reputation when he won a silver medal in the featherweight category in Melbourne.

Pakistan's two other silvers were won in sailing and squash. They also won six bronze medals in snooker (two), squash, kababdi, rowing and boxing in South Korea.

Pakistan's best bets of winning a medal lie in weightlifting, where they have high hopes for Shujauddin Butt who gave a sterling performance with a Commonwealth gold in the 85 kg category in Melbourne. "I put in hard work to win a gold in Melbourne and since that day I have been working hard to win a gold in Asian Games and then in the Olympics," said Butt.

Mohammad Irfan, who won a bronze in the 77 kg event in Melbourne is also a medal prospect.

But Pakistan's once stellar fortunes in field hockey have nose-dived.

Their recent slump started at Busan when they lost 4-3 in the third-fourth play-off to Malaysia, their worst showing in Asian Games history.

Pakistan's last of seven Asian Games gold came in Beijing in 1990. They finished a poor sixth in the World Cup in Germany earlier this year.

Losing ace penalty corner expert Shoaib Abbas, who holds the record of most goals with 286, and effective half-back Mohammad Waseem - both preferring to play league hockey in the Netherlands, proved the last nail in the coffin. However, new captain Rehan Butt is putting on a brave face.

"We have a young team and it has the capability to play in the final. Our main rival would be Southm Korea," said Butt, who took over from sacked Mohammad Saqlain. Cue sports and shooting are also among Pakistan's medal hopes.Led by England-based Shaukat Ali, who is among the top 60 professional snooker players, Pakistan could surprise Asian giants like China and Thailand.

Ali, who won a gold medal in the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1998, lost interest and ducked out of the 2002 edition but has been persuaded to come back to the fold. Once Asian powers in athletics with Asia's fastest man Abdul Khaliq in the 1950s, Pakistan is now among the also-rans with a token representation of one male and one female athlete.

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