ISLAMABAD, Jul 28 (APP):The British Acting High Commissioner, Andrew Dalgleish, visited the Usman Wazeer Boxing Academy, to meet athletes and coaches ahead of the opening of the Commonwealth Games at Birmingham, UK.
Pakistan has sent a 102-member delegation to Birmingham to compete in 12 different sports. Pakistan’s female contingent at these Games is the biggest ever with 25 athletes set to compete and is also making history: women’s cricket is featuring for the first time in the Birmingham Games.
Accompanied by Ismat Ullah Mahr, the Academy’s Head Coach, the Acting High Commissioner received boxing tips from the pro-athletes, including Usman Wazeer, the first Pakistani to win the Asian Boxing Federation Welterweight title. He also met with female athletes, who hope one day to become the next stars of the Commonwealth Games.
The Acting High Commissioner noted at the heart of the relationship between the UK and Pakistan were deep people-to-people links, with Birmingham being home to a vibrant and strong British – Pakistani community.
Andrew Dalgleish said, “Sport brings people together with the Birmingham Games showing how the UK and Pakistan are ‘ek saath’ in our 75 year partnership. I am delighted to see a record number of Pakistani female athletes competing, inspiring the next generation of girls in the UK, Pakistan and around the world.”
It may be mentioned that the Commonwealth Games bring nations together in a colourful celebration of sport and human performance. But the Games have evolved dramatically since its beginnings in 1930. Held every four years, the Games have grown from featuring 11 countries and 400 athletes, to a global spectacle of 4,600 sports men and women from across 72 nations and territories.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games to run till August 8 features thousands of world-class athletes and a global broadcast audience of over a billion.
Pakistan has competed in 13 of the 21 previous Commonwealth Games, from 1954. Its most successful games have been the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth, where it was 4th in the overall rankings and won 8 Gold Medals. Its most successful event has been wrestling, where it has won 42 medals, 21 of which have been Gold. It ranks 3rd overall in Wrestling at the Commonwealth Games.
However, Pakistan was competing in 12 of the 19 sports being run at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022. These include Swimming, Athletics (including Para Athletics), Cricket, Boxing, Hockey, Judo, Squash, Table Tennis, Weightlifting, Wrestling, Badminton, and Gymnastics.