“Abbas Shibak” In an interview with IRNA, one of the Iranian wushu coaches who leads the Sri Lankan national team said: “My contract with the Sri Lankan Federation is until the Asian Games in Hangzhou.” Today we will hold the last exercise and I will return to Iran. Whenever the new Asian Games are announced, I will return to Sri Lanka to do new planning and resume training.
He added: “In 2019, I accepted the leadership of Sri Lanka to participate in the South Asian Games. Before me, there were Chinese coaches in this country who were not satisfied with the performance of the Sri Lankan authorities.
“That year, for the first time in terms of team, we won the second title and also won the first Sri Lankan wushu gold medal at the South Asian Games,” Shibak said.
The Sri Lankan coach said: “Then I was invited to work again for the Asian Games and we started training in February last year. We still have to cancel training due to the corona and the cancellation of the Asian Games until a new time is set.
He said: “In our training programs, there were two joint camps with India and Iran, which were canceled due to the unclear conditions of the Asian Games.”
Regarding the conditions of the Asian Games, Shibak said: “These conditions are not good for Iranian wushu, which is one of the world powers, but it is a positive point for Sri Lanka.” Sri Lankan Wushu has a small workforce and the same number are not well trained. In these few months, we have trained basic wushu practitioners and increased their physical strength and speed to get ready. However, winning the first Wushu medal in Sri Lankan history at the Asian Games is not far off.
“The process is very good,” he said of the conditions in Sri Lanka. I do not care about financial issues and most of my motivation is to take positive action in Sri Lanka Wushu as a representative of Iran. The officials of this federation are making a lot of efforts, it may not be ideal conditions, but it is not bad either.
In the end, Shibak thanked “Mahdi Alinejad” and “Amir Sedighi” and said: “If I coach in Sri Lanka now, it is because of these people.” I am also grateful to my colleagues in the Zahedan City Council who worked with me to attend the Sri Lankan national team camps with ease.