Since he was a child, Asad Jooma has dreamed of competing in the biggest international gymnastics competitions.

On Wednesday, Jooma, who has already represented UIC at the NCAA National Championships, left Chicago to begin a journey that he hopes will be just the first step toward achieving his loftiest goals.

Through persistence and some fortunate twists of fate, Jooma will represent Pakistan in the Asian Games in Indonesia starting August 18.

"I'm really excited," Jooma said before departing.  "For many people this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity.  I am fortunate that there are more international competitions coming up in the next two years, and if I do well this time I may be able to represent Pakistan again in the near future."

UIC head coach Charley Nelson concurred.  "It's really exciting, and great for our program to have guys competing on the world stage."  Nelson ticked off several countries, including Ireland, Barbados, Greece, and the United States, for which Flames gymnasts have participated in international competitions.

Getting on the Pakistani team in the first place was not without some bumps in the road.  Jooma's coaches at UIC helped smooth the way for him to make the proper connections.

"Starting when I got to college, I talked with Charley about getting on the Pakistani team.  I was born and have lived my whole life in the US, but my parents are both from Pakistan.  So it worked out perfectly to get my citizenship easier than most people," Jooma recalled.  "I contacted the national team, but I was talking to the wrong people and was not being persistent enough."

Flames volunteer assistant coach Mike Wilner competed for Israel in the 2013 World Maccabiah Games.  He had connections through the Israeli national team and in February and March of this year, helped put Jooma in touch with the right people.  "After Mike reached out I got a response within a day," Jooma laughed, "saying that they wanted me to compete for them at this competition."

Thinking that he was on the team and all set to compete in Indonesia, Jooma was happily looking forward to the trip in August.  But the first of several obstacles materialized during the heart of the Flames' season.

"We were in the home stretch of our season.  I had already qualified for NCAAs and was excited about that.  Then I got a call from the Pakistan officials, who said they wanted me to come to their national qualifying meet."  Reality struck hard, but Jooma took it in stride.  "I thought I was already on the team!  It was definitely a bummer to have to qualify.  But I realized that it was a naïve thought to assume that I was on the team just due to my nationality."
 

Pakistan's qualifier was scheduled for the same time as the NCAA meet.  Jooma knew he couldn't miss the NCAA competition, especially since UIC would be hosting it.  He told the Pakistan officials that UIC's conference meet was coming up.  Originally scheduled to compete in just four events at conference, Jooma arranged with Nelson to participate in all six events and send the film to the Pakistan team.  Upon seeing how Jooma performed in the setting of a high level competition, the national team welcomed him on to the squad.

"It could have been a major conflict," Nelson observed, "since even though being on a national team is a huge honor, Asad's first priority is to UIC.  It was a nice piece of flexibility on their part that they let him send in some video, and it's clear that he's among the better gymnasts in Pakistan since they got back to him very quickly."

"Having to try out diminished my spirits, since I thought it was all a done deal," Jooma said.  "I'm glad they asked me to try out, though, because I actually had to work for this and prove that I was good enough to compete at this level rather than just being the nationality.  I feel like I proved myself worthy of a spot on the team."

With his spot on the six-member national team secure, Jooma continued to practice at UIC while looking forward to meeting his teammates shortly before the Asian Games began.  Those plans, however, would be altered when the next challenge struck.

In June, Pakistan gymnastics officials contacted Jooma with bad news resulting from the country's recent elections.  "Pakistan is undergoing political change due to the elections," he related, "and sport is not a priority.  The budget for the Asian Games was gone.  They told me I could still compete if I self-funded the trip, and they would be able to handle the logistics."

With his international dreams at stake, Jooma called upon his resources at UIC one more time.  "This was such a huge opportunity for me," he said, "which could lead to further opportunities," noting the upcoming World Gymnastics Championships in Qatar this fall.  Nelson agreed.  "It was another wrench in the works," the coach said.  "Funding varies wildly in different countries.  We worked within the athletic department and the university, which has a special assistance fund for unique opportunities like this.

"Ironically, Asad couldn't fundraise himself because he's an NCAA athlete.  But with the help of our administration and [athletic director] Garrett [Klassy], we were able to secure some funding."  Jooma and his family came up with the rest of the money, and finally he could envision his dreams becoming reality.

"There were a few times when I thought it wouldn't happen," he admitted.  "I didn't tell anyone in case anything happened and I didn't want to get my hopes up.  But I've been training hard and working on two very difficult vaults" since qualifications in the Asian Games require two attempts, which are averaged.  Jooma will compete in all six events, but is most optimistic about his chances on the vault and floor exercise.  "This is the first time Pakistan has had an athlete with a chance to qualify for the finals."

Nelson knows that the experience will pay dividends for Jooma personally, as well as the rest of the Flames squad.  "He's going to come back excited and pumped," Nelson said, noting that UIC's fall semester begins just three days after the gymnastics competition ends.  "He'll be leading the team, being in routine shape and just from the excitement of being on the big stage.  The effect of qualifying for the NCAAs, and competing on the world stage, will show our guys that this is within our reach, and training hard and doing things the right way can get you where you want to go."

For Jooma, success at the international level would be just part of his personal bigger picture.  "I'm excited to make a name for myself; to prove to UIC and my friends and family and the world that I'm a world class athlete.

"In high school, my goal was to get a college scholarship.  In college, it's all about the team, and UIC has given me a sense of team that I never had before.  But to put a country's flag on my chest, that's bigger than me or my school."  His voice took on added emotion as he continued.  "I will be competing for the country of myself and my parents.  I can show my parents that moving to the United States wasn't for nothing.

"Sports are not regarded highly in Pakistani culture.  Education is the big thing.  Everyone wants to become a doctor, or lawyer, or to work in finance.  I have been able to combine the two.  People were skeptical when they heard I was going to college to be a gymnast.  Well, I'm not majoring in gymnastics.  I'm majoring in neuroscience!  I'm looking forward to proving to everyone back home that there's a balance, that you can do two things at once and be successful.  I'm really really excited to compete against the best athletes in the world and get my name out there."

A name that is already written in UIC history, and that may become part of international gymnastics lore soon.