Bilal says he needs foreign training for World Championship

KARACHI: Pakistan’s seasoned wrestler Mohammad Bilal on Monday said that he will need foreign training before this year’s World Wrestling Championships, a qualifying round for the 2024 Paris Olympics, in order to work properly on his skills.

“I have got an IOC scholarship and I have received its first installment. I will make my best effort to get benefit of this facility and prepare well for the Olympic Qualifiers which will begin with this year’s World Championships in Serbia,” Bilal told 'The News' in an interview from his hometown Gujranwala.

Bilal is the cousin of the country’s premier wrestler Mohammad Inam and is regarded as one of the destructive wrestlers of Pakistan. “I don’t need this money in cash. I will be glad if someone provides me foreign training ahead of the World Championships so that I could work on my skills. We are not inferior to the world's top wrestlers in strength but yes there is a difference in skills level and this is the area on which I would like to work further so that I could perform in the Olympics Qualifiers,” Bilal said.

Bilal and Inam are the only two wrestlers of Pakistan who have been awarded IOC scholarships for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Bilal is one of three Pakistani wrestlers, the other being Inam and Youth Olympics bronze medallist Inayatullah, who have the capability to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF) also aims to field them in the coming qualifiers. There is a three-pronged qualification system for the 2024 Olympics in wrestling. The qualification journey will begin with the World Championships which will be held in Serbia in September.

The top five wrestlers in each weight category -- the gold medalists, silver medalists, two bronze medalists and the winner of the fight between the two bronze medal fights losers -- will book seats for Paris 2024.

There will a continental qualification tournament next year in which the top two grapplers in each weight will qualify for the Paris Olympics. And the final qualification tournament will be held in the shape of 2024 World Qualification event from which the gold and silver medallists and the winner of the fight between the two third-placed athletes will make it to the Olympics.

Bilal has a lot of experience as he featured in the qualifiers for the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He got bronze medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics World Wrestling Qualification tournament held in Istanbul in 57 kilogramme, the same weight category in which he will field in the qualifiers for Paris Olympics in coming months.

In the world qualifying tournament for 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in Sofia, Bulgaria, Bilal got off to a solid start when he downed Anatoli Buruian of Moldova in the round of 32 in the 57kg weight category competition. However, he lost to Azerbaijan’s Giergi Edisherashvili in the round of 16.

In the Asian Qualifying round in Almaty in 2021, Bilal lost to Bekbolot Myrzanazar Uulu of Kyrgyzstan 6-4 in the quarter-finals. Bilal is now preparing for the Asian Championships slated to be held at Astana, Kazakhstan, from April 9-14.

He is one of the three Pakistan grapplers who will be contesting for medals in this event. The others are Inayatullah, who will feature in the 74kg, and Nouman Zaka, who will flex his muscles in the 86kg. Nouman has been inducted into the squad in place of Mohammad Inam who is set to attend a coaching course in Budapest, Hungary.