Pakistan end second in Commonwealth Wrestling

KARACHI: Pakistan’s seasoned wrestler Mohammad Inam and his younger brother Mohammad Bilal claimed silver medals in their respective weight categories as Pakistan finished second in the Commonwealth Senior Wrestling Championship which concluded in Singapore on Sunday.

Pakistan grabbed two silver medals and 11 bronze.

Inam lost his 86 kilogramme final bout in freestyle wrestling against an Indian wrestler to settle for the silver medal.

Inam, who won gold in the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, defeated wrestlers from Canada, India, Wales, and Canada before losing the final bout 0-3.

Bilal had to be content with the silver medal when he went down against an Indian player in the final bout after a series of wins.  Bilal competed in the 57kg.

The Pakistani wrestlers who claimed bronze medals in freestyle wrestling were Abdul Wahab (61kg), Mohammad Asad Butt (74kg), Umair Tariq (97kg) and Zaman Anwar (125kg).

Those who grabbed bronze in the Greco-Roman style were Mohammad Bilal (59kg), Abdul Wahab (65kg), Abdur Rehman (71kg), Mohammad Asad Butt (75kg), Umair Tariq (98kg) and Zaman Anwar (130kg).

Inam was satisfied with Pakistan’s overall performance. “Pakistan fielded only eight wrestlers and they got so many medals which is a positive sign,” Inam told ‘The News’ from Singapore.

“India fielded 48 wrestlers and they had two to three entries in one weight and this was a problem for us,” Inam added.

About Greco-Roman style, Inam said that in Pakistan no competitions in this kind of wrestling were ever held. “Here our players performed in this style because of their own hard work. In Pakistan the federation cannot focus on Greco-Roman style because of financial issues. India is focusing on both because of strong financial position as they have a budget of Rs200 million. The budget of our federation is only Rs1.5 million,” Inam said.