KARACHI: Umar Saeed, who is a marathoner hailing from Gujrat in Pakistan but has been living in the United States for the past 20 years, is eager to represent Pakistan in the Olympics.
After successful use of diaspora players in Pakistan’s national football and baseball teams, Saeed feels that athletics could be the next sport in line to take advantage of Pakistan origin players.
During a recent marathon in the US, Saeed completed the distance in two hours, 22 minutes and 41 seconds and got the attention of Pakistan’s running community due to his impressive timing.
The best record of a Pakistani in a marathon was achieved by Naseer Ahmad in 2003 when he completed the distance in two hours and 14 minutes. However, in the past 10 years, only one athlete, Israr in 2015, has managed to register a time less than two hours 22 minutes.
“I was interested in running from a very young age. I broke a lot of records during my school days. I also remained state champion at the university level,” Saeed told Geo News in an exclusive interview.
“I’m confident about representing Pakistan since the country has started using diaspora players in other sports including football. It will be an honour for me to represent Pakistan.
“Players who train outside Pakistan can help the country secure victories in international events while also helping local players.
“My short-term goal is to qualify for the Olympics but in the long-run I want to play a role in encouraging youngsters to take up this sport.”
It must be noted that in order to qualify for the Olympics, Saeed will have to complete the marathon in two hours and eight minutes but he is hopeful he can do that with extensive training.
Faizan Lakhani Faizan Lakhani is Deputy Editor (Sports) at Geo News.