Judoka Shah suffers early loss in Grand Slam

KARACHI: Pakistan’s experienced judoka Shah Hussain lost his first round fight of the Grand Slam to Daniel Dichev of Bulgaria after two minutes and 26 minutes struggle at the Brazil’s capital Brasilia on Tuesday. The 26-year old Tokyo-based Olympian had also been beaten by Daniel in August in the World Championships in Tokyo.

“Shah made three fouls which caused his loss,” Pakistan Judo Federation (PJF) vice-president Masood Ahmed told The News after the fight.However Masood was hopeful that Shah would at least grab ten points which would help him improve his ranking. He was hopeful that Shah would qualify for 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “I am confident he will qualify,” Masood said. He said after 15 days he will fight in the Grand Slam in the UAE and soon afterwards he would travel to Australia to fight in the Oceania Open.

“We have already applied for Australia visa,” Masood said. The Abu Dhabi Grand Slam will be held from Octpber 24 to 26 while the Perth Oceania Open will be conducted from November 3-4.

He was quick to add that until May 2020 Shah will have to feature constantly in Olympic qualifiers which will help him fight for the seat of the world’s most prestigious event. “If Shah comes in top 30 or 35 then he can again earn a seat on continental quota which he had last time achieved,” he said.