Pakistan‘s four-athlete swimming team failed to qualify for any of the finals of the Incheon Indoor and Martial Arts Games on Monday, but the team expressed high hopes for future Games.

On Monday, the second day of the 25-meter short course swimming events at AIMAG, medals in seven categories are up for grabs. The categories are men’s 50-meter breaststroke, men‘s and women’s 50-meter backstroke, men‘s and women’s 100-meter butterfly, and men‘s and women’s 4 X 100-meter freestyle relay.

“We were not allowed (by the Pakistan government) to bring the best lot (of swimmers),” Pakistan team official Rafiq Mian Muhammad said. He added, however, that he was fairly satisfied with the results considering that his team was not composed of his best athletes.

“That is why we were not able to even take part in the relays. We only have two girls and two boys.”

As for the reason his government did not allow the country‘s top swimmers to participate in this year’s AIMAG, Muhammad said only “there are some problems,” declining to elaborate further.

Syed Arif Hasan, president of Pakistan‘s National Olympic Committee and vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia, has also hinted at some domestic problems after the OCA executive board meeting on June 29. At the time, Hasan said that such problems were among the issues discussed at the meeting without elaborating. As for next year’s Asian Games in Incheon, Muhammad showed confidence in his team‘s ability to perform much better provided that Pakistan’s best swimmers were allowed to participate.

“I just hope the best lot will be allowed to come.”

By Choi He-suk
(cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)