Hussain Shah confident his son will win medal

From our correspondent

BIRMINGHAM: Hussain Shah, former Olympics boxing medallist and father of the country’s premier judoka Shah Hussain, on Tuesday said he expected his son to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games judo competitions which will be held here at the Coventry Arena on Wednesday (today).

“Shah Hussain has worked hard and I hope he will win a medal,” Hussain Shah told ‘The News’ from Tokyo.

“He is now a much experienced fighter and the first fight would be very important. He needs a good start and if he gets one, it will help him in the coming bouts,” Hussain Shah said.

Hussain is the only Pakistani boxer who claimed bronze in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

The two-time Olympian Shah Hussain will face Australia’s Harrison Cassar in the quarter-finals directly on Wednesday as the weight category carries only six entries.

If Shah loses, he will go to repechage and then he will have to play two bouts if he is to win a bronze.

On Monday Shah Hussain had told 'The News' that he would “go for the gold”.

He became the only Pakistani judoka who claimed silver in the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games in the minus 100 kilogramme in which he played in his entire career so far.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s other highly talented judoka Qaisar Afridi will also be pitted against New Zealand’s Jason Koster in the -100 kilogramme weight category round of 16.

Qaisar’s weight carries 14 entries and the majority of the fighters in his group have vast experience in the field.

However, Qaisar is quite confident about his success in what could be the most competitive event. “I have worked hard and am perfectly fit and will click inshaAllah,” Qaiser had told this correspondent on Monday.