Karachi, Pakistan, January 17, 2022: Mohammad Karim will be the lone Pakistani athlete to compete at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics following the withdrawal of Mia Nuriah Freudweiler due to injury.
Karim, who competed in alpine skiing at Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018, is determined to put on a better show at his third Winter Olympics and has been training for the past few months in Italy, Lebanon and Turkey.
“Yes, I have been in top shape and will put in my best,” Karim told The News from his scenic hometown Naltar, Gilgit Baltistan, last week.
“I have trained in Italy since November and returned a few days ago. I also trained and competed in Turkey and Lebanon last year. Alpine is a sort of sport in which training and competitions go side by side. If you train for a few weeks, then you will feature in races for a few days.
“I am now in Naltar and very lucky that it has snowed recently. I am on the slope at 7am and train until noon. I then take a break of 30 minutes and continue until 2pm. It’s tough work,” Karim added.
Karim, who will take part in the slalom and giant slalom in Beijing, is being trained by a coach from Greece. A scholarship from the International Olympic Committee and assistance from the Ski Federation of Pakistan has helped him achieve the goal of taking part in his third Winter Olympics.
Meanwhile, Switzerland-based skier Mia Nuriah Freudweiler had also qualified for the Beijing Games but had to pull out due to an injury.
Pakistan made their Winter Olympics debut in 2010 in Vancouver when Mohammad Abbas competed in the giant slalom.
