Another Pakistani athlete eliminated from Tokyo Olympics

KARACHI: Pakistani judoka Shah Hussain Shah's Olympics journey ended today after he lost his fight against Egypt’s Darwish Ramadan in the 100-kilogramme judo competition.

Egypt’s Darwish Ramadan who is World No13 has beaten Shah Hussain Shah in the match and qualified for the next round. 

This was the second time that he was featuring in the Olympics — Shah made a poor debut in 2016 in the Rio Games when he was undone by Ukraine’s Artem Bloshenko in the second round.

It is pertinent to mention here that Shah missed a few major events before the Olympics because of the travel issues created by COVID-19.

Before Shah Hussain, Pakistani athletes Mahoor Shahzad Haseeb Tariq were also eliminated from the Tokyo Olympics. Shahzad was representing Pakistan in Badminton while Tariq in swimming.

Earlier on Wednesday, Shah talked about his match from Tokyo. 

"Yes, pressure will be there as the event is tough. You know we have to tackle the pressure and I will go all out to do my best,” Shah had said.

Shah’s close friend and training partner Nagase Takanori of Japan the other day won gold in the -81 kilogramme competition.

Takanori and Shah also studied together in the Tsukuba University. When Shah was asked what his father Hussain Shah told him during his last call to him on Wednesday, Shah had said he told him that he had worked hard and should play with full vigour in the event.

Hussain expected his son to give a stunning performance in the Olympics. “I expect a lot from my son. He has worked extremely hard and is very serious this time,” Hussain had told The News.

“If he keeps his nerves, uses his skills well, then I am sure he will win. I wish for a successful day tomorrow. It would be a dream come true if he finished at the victory podium,” said Hussain, the 1988 Seoul Olympics boxing bronze medallist.

Pakistan Judo Federation’s (PJF) president Col Junaid had told this correspondent that Shah had got tough draws, but was capable of doing well.

“No doubt he has got tough draws as he did not feature in a few events before Olympics. That denied him the chance to boost his ranking but he has experience and has worked hard for the last five years. I hope he will do better this time,” Junaid had said.