Shah faces Bulgaria’s Daniel in Brazil Grand Slam

KARACHI: Pakistan’s star judoka Shah Hussain will face Bulgaria’s Daniel Dichev in the -100 kilogramme first round of the Grand Slam in Brazil’s capital city Brasilia on Tuesday (today).

The 28-year-old Daniel stands 40th in world ranking and 38th in Olympic ranking. Shah’s world ranking is 74 and Olympic ranking is 62. Daniel downed Shah in the pre-quarter-final of the World Championships held in Tokyo in August this year.

The Tokyo-based Olympian will have to produce solid performance in the event to improve his Olympic ranking. Shah last month did a glorious job when he won three fights in the World Championships in Tokyo, his hometown. It helped him improve his rankings.

The 26-year-old two-time Asian bronze medallist and 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medallist has improved a lot during the last couple of years. Pakistan Judo Federation (PJF) vice-president Masood Ahmed said on Monday he was confident about Shah’s chances of winning a few bouts. “I am very much hopeful he will do his best,” Masood told this correspondent. The PJF at the eleventh hour managed the ticket for Shah for Brazil trip. Shah qualified for the 2016 Olympics on the basis of continental quota.