Pakistanis competing at the 2018 Winter Olympics

[Pakistanian]

KARACHI:

“It’s the second time he is there, isn’t that something?” Pakistan’s 2014 Winter Olympian Mohammad Karim’s brother and skier Sher Afzal say, as the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea runs on the television. “That’s my brother and the other skier is Syed Human, my nephew. Can you believe it? Our very own boys.”
Pakistan may have a small history at the Winter Games but it surely is a remarkable one. The country made their debut at the Games in 2010 with Muhammad Abbas becoming the first Winter Olympian for Pakistan, while the 23-year-old Karim is at the Games for the second time in his career.
This fact says a lot about the skiing sanctuary Naltar, which has produced three Winter Olympians now for the country, with the 25-year-old Human, who has also been the national cross country champion while representing Army domestically, making his debut at this year’s Games.














Human had a great time in Finland competing in three races while also skiing in other four in Turkey to qualify for the Games’ cross-country event. Karim, meanwhile, went to Turkey for the qualifiers, but his trip was cut short as he had to come back for his mother. He never started his last race in Turkey at the Giant Slalom event on January 6.
“It’s a great achievement for us, I’m a skier myself, I know this is huge, Karim has done it again, we are so happy for him” Afzal, a Pakistan Air Force skier told The Express Tribune. “My whole family can’t contain themselves. It’s two of our boys, but then it’s a great thing for the entire country. They are representing Pakistan at the highest level. Everyone in Gilgit-Baltistan is proud, my small village Naltar is proud, it’s something that will remain with us all forever.”
Karim will ski in the Slalom and Giant Slalom events on February 18 and 22, while Human will have his debut run on February 16, and Afzal says that everyone in Naltar will be watching them.
“I’m excited we have the setup at the PAF base here and we’ll watch them take that run,” said Afzal.
Karim will be looking to improve Pakistan’s 2014 Winter Olympics record, where he finished the first run on a 4,495 feet track in one minute and 43.44 seconds in the Giant Slalom event, outpacing an Indian skier and ending the event on 71st position.
“I know for sure that Karim will make us proud,” Karim’s brother Afzal added. “When he was leaving I told him that he is doing great and that he needs to raise the Pakistan flag high.”

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1631657/7-winter-olympics-pakistan-puts-faith-skiers/

 

[Pakistanian]

Muhammad Karim and Syed Human, lets see if they can bring home gold

 

[Saeed]

When are their games? I tried to look up but couldn’t find anything.

 

[Pakistanian]

When are their games? I tried to look up but couldn’t find anything.

Karim will ski in the Slalom and Giant Slalom events on February 18 and 22, while Human will have his debut run on February 16, and Afzal says that everyone in Naltar will be watching them.

 

[Saeed]

Karim will ski in the Slalom and Giant Slalom events on February 18 and 22, while Human will have his debut run on February 16, and Afzal says that everyone in Naltar will be watching them.

Thanks. Lol that’s right there in the article but I ignored it thinking it’s going to be between those two dates. Muhammad Karim competed in Sochi so he has experience, hopefully he will do better. Pakistan would be very lucky to get any medals though.

 

[Major]

Syed Human finishes at 108 amongst 118 skiers in cross country 15km free

qualifying and appearing in the olympics is itself a big achievement, and the fact that Pakistan isn't a country with winters like in North America, or doesn't even have any winter sports, we still got 2 athletes qualified for the winter olympics.

anyways,good job by Syed Human. It doesn't matter what position he came. The fact that he participated in the olympics and finished his run means alot.

Hope many people could take inspiration from this

Syed Human is the third athele in Pakistan's history to represent us in the Winter olympics

 

[Pakistanian]

Not bad, finished ahead of 10 other skiers and I think he's only 19-20?

 

[Syed1]

That's a big achievement for a country that doesn't even have a winter.

 

[faraz39]

More so a big achievement for a country that is poor and doesn't fund any non mainstream sports.

 

[Pakistanian]

That's a big achievement for a country that doesn't even have a winter.

They're from Gilgit, I'm pretty sure they have a winter lol.

 

[Syed1]

They're from Gilgit, I'm pretty sure they have a winter lol.

Gilgit has winter but not Canadian or Scandinavian or Russian winter.

 

[s28]

Eddie the Eagle became a star from coming last when he represented GB

 

[shaz619]

Eddie the Eagle became a star from coming last when he represented GB

Eddie held national records and competed in the gruelling 70/90 m events. Like one of the posters just said, making it to the Olympic stage in itself is a monumental achievement.

For example their are hundreds of thousands of fighters in the UK, they have to win regional championships to become eligible to compete in a national tournament which is a stepping stone to international tournament qualifiers which you must win in order to compete on the Olympix boxing stage....but then you just get screwed by the judges [MENTION=136108]Donal Cozzie[/MENTION]

 

[shaz619]

qualifying and appearing in the olympics is itself a big achievement, and the fact that Pakistan isn't a country with winters like in North America, or doesn't even have any winter sports, we still got 2 athletes qualified for the winter olympics.

anyways,good job by Syed Human. It doesn't matter what position he came. The fact that he participated in the olympics and finished his run means alot.

Hope many people could take inspiration from this

Syed Human is the third athele in Pakistan's history to represent us in the Winter olympics

Good effort from this bloke, he should be proud

 

[Pakistanian]

Gilgit has winter but not Canadian or Scandinavian or Russian winter.

They have some of the biggest mountains in the world, the terrain is unparalleled.

 

[Saeed]

Syed Human did ok for someone participating in the winter olympics for the first time, hope he keeps representing Pakistan at this level. Lets see how Muhammad Karim performs.

 

[Saeed]

Interesting article about Alpine Skiing. Muhammad Karim is taking part in Giant Slalom, finished his first run. 2nd run will start in about 39 minutes.
https://www.olympic.org/pyeongchang-2018/results/en/alpine-skiing/results-men-s-giant-slalom-fnl-000100-.htm

The four disciplines of alpine skiing competition are slalom, giant slalom, super giant slalom (super-G) and downhill. (A fifth event — the alpine combined — is, as its name suggests, a race that combines downhill and slalom.) In each discipline, the goal is to cross the finish line in less time than other competitors, but they require different techniques.

According to the rules and format of Olympic alpine skiing, the downhill and super-G are both speed events. “The competitors generate high speeds because the course is designed with longer runs and greater distances between the gates,” the format guide states. U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn — who is known for her speed — won an Olympic gold medal in the downhill event and a bronze medal in the super-G event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Meanwhile, the giant slalom and slalom are considered “technical events” because the courses involve more gates and turns. Shiffrin won a gold medal in the slalom at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.

Here’s what to know about the difference between the alpine skiing disciplines:

Downhill skiing

“A Downhill is characterised by the six components of technique, courage, speed, risk, physical condition and judgement,” according to the competition rules of the International Ski Federation.

While skiers participate in training runs for the downhill event, the official competition is based on only one run. The course, which is longer than the others, includes fewer turns and has the highest vertical drop, which is what makes downhill the fastest alpine skiing event. Downhill skiers reach speeds of 80 to 95 miles per hour.

The men’s downhill event took place Thursday, when athletes from Norway earned gold and silver medals, followed by a skier from Switzerland for bronze. The women’s downhill event is set to take place on Wednesday.

Slalom

The slalom competition consists of two runs. A skier’s score is based on the combined time of both runs.

The gates on a slalom course are the closest together, requiring skiers to zig and zag quickly, making turns with rapid speed. If a skier misses a gate, he or she will be disqualified.

The women’s slalom took place Friday, with skiers from Sweden, Switzerland and Austria earning gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively. The men’s slalom event is scheduled for Thursday.

Giant slalom

Like the slalom event, the giant slalom consists of two runs, after which a skier’s times are combined.
The giant slalom course at the 2018 Winter Olympics was lined with 50 gates spaced farther apart than the gates in the slalom course, but not as far apart as the gates in the super giant slalom, as Reuters reported.

The women’s giant slalom took place Thursday, and the men are set to compete in the giant slalom on Sunday.

Super giant slalom

Like the downhill event, the super-G is decided by just one run. It has more gates than the downhill course, but fewer than in slalom or giant slalom.

Because the super-G is a speed event, it has a higher vertical drop than either the slalom or giant slalom courses.

Both men and women already competed in the super-G race.

http://time.com/5159396/mikaela-shiffrin-olympics-alpine-skiing-events/

 

[Pakistanian]

Some pics from the opening ceremony

 

[Saeed]

Karim came on the 72nd place.