Praise for Hajireen in Doha

SEPAKTAKRAW: Sri Lanka's well known sportsman, Nizam Hajireen, the respected administrator of the Asian Sepaktakraw Federation (ASTAF) of which he is a senior Vice-President and also of the International Sepaktakraw Federation (ISTAF), earned respect and praise at the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar for his excellent judgements and decisions as a senior member of the elite Panel of Jury.

Six gold medals were at stake in Sepaktakraw at the Al-Saad Sports Stadium Complex which drew the best and strongest teams from Asia among both men and women. The experience of Hajireen came to the forefront on numerous occasions to defuse tension and doubts of teams when certain decisions of the match referees were challenged and protests lodged with the Panel of Jury.

Thailand's men and women claimed four gold medals and one silver, while the Vietnamese women winning two golds and a silver. Both Malaysia and Myanmar won two silver medals each.

This was the second occasion that Hajireen officiated as a member of the Panel of Jury. The first was at the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea in 2002. He has also officiated at the South East Asian (SEA) Games in Malaysia and the Philippines and also at the World Cup Sepaktakraw Championships in Thailand, South Korea, and Singapore.

Hajireen said that Sepaktakraw has never been played in Qatar, but with the wide exposure given on TV, the Qataris turned up in large numbers to witness the matches and this sport is to be introduced soon to Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries in the very near future.