KABUL – At a Kabul-based training hall, six Afghan athletes competed in pairs to practise martial arts with limited equipment amid roasting weather, fully prepared for the Asian Games that opens on Sept 23 in Hangzhou, China.

Afghanistan’s national wushu squad in Hangzhou will comprise four athletes, a coach and a team leader. The exponents will be taking part in sanda, a fighting system based on traditional gongfu and modern combat techniques.

Responsible for selecting athletes for the national team, the Afghanistan Wushu Federation has registered more than 6,000 members from 28 provinces. They are now engaged in the events of sanda, as well as taolu, which refers to a choreographed set of movements.

“We have 44 athletes involved in the national team’s training daily,” coach Gulgul Shah Khalid said.

Mohammad Khalid Hotak, 30, is one of the most prominent wushu athletes on the team. Hotak was captivated by martial arts, or wushu, when he saw the movements performed by Chinese action film stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

Going to China to represent his country in wushu has always been a dream for Hotak.

“Wushu’s discipline is a message of peace, intimacy and friendship, and it creates peace and brotherhood,” he said.

In 2013, Hotak won a bronze medal in the men’s 60kg sanda competition at the 12th World Wushu Championships in Kuala Lumpur. It marked the first medal he had won in an international wushu event.

“I have competed with champions from China four times. It is a very good experience for me and it also allows me to understand the skills of Chinese players,” Hotak said, noting that he will take part in the men’s 70kg sanda competition in Hangzhou.

He also said that wushu is a relatively small sport in Afghanistan and wushu athletes cannot receive monthly pay like their football and cricket counterparts.

Competing and winning tournaments, championships and other games is the only way for them to earn a living in this profession.

“There are 11 people in our family. My father gave me the greatest support. I am delighted to continue participating in this sport,” Hotak said, attributing his motivation to carry on to his family’s support.

“I will work harder, continue to win championships and medals, and succeed in high-level competitions.”

Ehsan Ahmed Karukhil, the leader of the wushu team in Hangzhou, said that it is not easy to become a member of the national wushu team like Hotak, and the selection of athletes to participate in international competitions is even stricter.

Potential national athletes are generally selected from each province first and national competitions are held to select four candidates.

If the quota of athletes is fewer than four, more competitions among the four will be held to decide on the final representatives.

Due to a shortage of funds to purchase related equipment needed for taolu events, the team can participate in only sanda events now, but Karukhil is optimistic about their chances in Hangzhou.

“Afghan champions previously won medals from such competitions, so it is expected that we will have a positive and good result this year as well,” he said. XINHUA