Shah preparing for Judo Grand Prix, Grand Slam

KARACHI: Pakistan’s sole Olympic hope Shah Hussain will be desperately looking to enhance his ranking when he appears in the Judo Grand Prix and Grand Slam to be held in the coming four weeks.

The Grand Prix will be staged in Havana, Cuba, from January 22-24 and Paris will host Grand Slam from February 6-7.

Both the events are very important for the Japan-based Shah who is targeting a berth in this year’s Rio Olympics.

Shah’s current Olympic qualifying ranking is 56. He may also grab the coveted seat through continental qualification.

“Yes, Shah is set to feature in both the key events,” Pakistan Judo Federation’s (PJF) secretary Masood Ahmed told ‘The News’ on Sunday.

“Both his tours are state-sponsored. We will try to provide more exposure to the player who has a bright chance of qualifying for Rio Games,” Masood said.

Shah’s total points are 159 which he has got by featuring in a handful of qualifying events since May last year. One big performance may put him in the driving seat. “An Iranian player Mahjoub Javad qualified for Rio on continental quota when he achieved the 41st ranking. And Shah has every chance to do so,” the official said.

“The Asian Championships in Uzbekistan in April will also be a key event. If Shah grabs a medal in that it will help him a lot,” Masood pointed out.

Shah will play the Olympic qualifiers till May 29, after which a final list will be prepared by the International Judo Federation (IJF) which will decide his fate.

After featuring in the Grand Salam, Shah will attend the IJF’s training session till February 12 in Paris. After that he will rush to India to represent Pakistan in the 12th South Asian Games to be held in Guwahati and Shillong from February 6-16.

“As our events will be held at the end Shah will be able to join us in India directly,” the official said.

In the SAG, PJF will field six men and six women judokas. The camp is currently in operation in Peshawar under the supervision of Iranian coach Sajjad Kazmi.

“When the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) tells us to shift the camp to Islamabad we will do that,” he said. Masood was confident that his side would win more gold medals in SAG this time. “Last time we had picked three gold medals. I hope this time we will grab more,” he said.

Men’s squad: Mudassir Ali (-60kg), Babar Ali (-66kg), Imtiaz Ali/Nadeem Akram (-73kg), Qaiser Khan (-81kg), Karamat Butt/Afzal Bashir (90kg), Shah Hussain (-100kg).

Women’s squad: Iran Shehzadi (-48kg), Humaira Ashiq (-48), Shumaila Gul (-52kg), Ambreen Naqvi/ Maryam (-57kg), Sonam Birkat (-63kg), Beenish Khan (-70kg), Fauzia Mumtaz (-78kg).