Inam’s participation in Asian Championship not certain

KARACHI: The country’s premier wrestler Mohammad Inam’s participation in the Asian Championship is not yet confirmed.

The Asian Championship, which was previously scheduled in New Delhi, has now been shifted to Astana, Kazakhstan, and will be held from April 7-15.

Inam told The News if he is selected for a two-month coaching course in Hungary then he will skip the continental event and will feature in one of the Beach Wrestling World Series which is compulsory for featuring in the ANOC World Beach Games.

“Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) sent my credentials for the course and it will be known within the next ten to 15 days whether I will be selected for it or not. If I am not selected then I will feature in the Asian Championship and will also play the two remaining Beach Wrestling World Series events to be held in Argentine and Singapore,” said Inam, an undisputed beach wrestling global hero.

He said that currently he is focusing on both mat and beach wrestling. “I am doing practice both on mat and beach. I had received a knee injury and it took me two weeks to recover but thanks God I am now fully fit and training,” said Inam, who will defend his title in the World Beach Games which will be held in Bali, Indonesia, from August 11-12. He won the title in the 2019 Doha World Beach Games, which was the inaugural event.

Mohammad Bilal and Inayatullah are the other two wrestlers who are set to feature in the Asian Championship in Astana.

Meanwhile, a Pakistan wrestling official told The News that the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has closed the wrestling camp and the wrestlers are undergoing training at the Punjab College, Lahore, under the auspices of Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF).

The official said that the federation has requested the PSB that it should give wrestling a camp from March 1 for 23 wrestlers and two officials.

“But the Board is yet to respond,” the official said.

The official said that they need a camp from the state as they are to feature in a number of events in the next few months including the Asian Championship, Beach Wrestling World Series to be held in Argentine and Singapore, the World Championship to be held in Serbia from September 16-24 and Asian Games which will be held in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8.

The World Championship will also serve as qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The official said that Pakistan has a solid chance of winning medals in beach wrestling and so the federation plans to also field Inayatullah and Zaman Anwar in the Beach Wrestling World Series. He said that it is compulsory to feature in one of these two events and Pakistan most probably will field in the Singapore Beach Wrestling World Series.

The official said that after the Asian Championship was shifted from India to Kazakhstan they have also focused on Astana event, adding the ticket cost will be high. “Yes, we could go to India by road but now going to Astana will be a bit costly as Pakistani currency is swiftly losing ground against the US dollar. Let’s see how the things go,” the official said.