Shah’s battle for Olympic spot ends

KARACHI: Pakistan’s sole Olympic prospect Japan-based Shah Hussain failed to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics after he lost to Brazil’s Rafael Buzacarini in his first Group B -100kg fight of the Grand Prix in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Sunday.

Shah fought valiantly before losing the vital showdown against the Brazilian who then had to be content with a silver medal after losing to Elkhan Mammadov of Azerbaijan in the final.

As many as 28 judokas took part in the competition with which the race to qualify for Rio Olympics ended.

“Shah’s quest for an Olympic berth has ended,” Pakistan Judo Federation’s (PJF) secretary Masood Ahmed told ‘The News’ on Sunday. “Shah played well today while his strong rival did not play the way he always does. Shah should be praised for fighting for full five minutes,” the official said.

Shah’s father Hussain Shah also appreciated his son’s fighting spirit. “Those who have watched the fight must be convinced that my son has established himself as a good player,” Hussain Shah told this correspondent from Tokyo.

“He will keep on training hard and I am confident he will be there in 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” said Shah’s father who is the only Pakistani boxer to have won a medal at the Olympic level — a bronze at 1988 Seoul Olympics.

In his Olympic qualifying journey, the 23-year-old Shah competed in around 15 events. He is 55th as per International Judo Federation’s (IJF) latest rankings.

After Shah’s exit from the Olympic race, all eyes are on the national boxers who will be competing in the world qualifying round in Azerbaijan capital Baku from June 14 to 26.

If no one from the pugilists qualified for Rio Games, two athletes, two swimmers and two shooters will feature in Rio Games on wild cards.