Pak wrestlers to compete in Asian Qualifiers

LAHORE: National wrestlers will begin their seemingly elusive quest for the 2024 Paris Olympics when they compete in the Asian Qualifying event in Bishkek on Friday (today).

As many as four wrestlers will make their effort to give a breakthrough for the country which has been struggling since long for returning to the Olympics fold. However the recent below-par showing in the Asian Championship in Bishkek shows that national grapplers will be under an immense pressure in the event which matters more.

The country’s gutsy grappler Mohammad Bilal will face Munkh Erdene Batkhuyag of Mongolia in the 57 kilogramme weight category. There are 15 wrestlers in this weight as per draws which were held on Thursday.

Meanwhile Mohammad Asadullah will lock horns with Wijesooriya Madushankar Lakmal of Sri Lanka in the 74 kilogramme weight category in which 14 wrestlers are set to contest. Pakistan’s seasoned heavyweight wrestler Zaman Anwar will begin his Olympics berth quest with his fight against Yusup Batirmurzaev of Kazakhstan in the 125kg in which 12 wrestlers will be fighting for the Olympics slots. Rookie wrestler Abdullah, who made his international debut in the Asian Championship a few days ago in Bishkek, will face Shaohua Yuan of China in the 65kg weight category which carries 17 wrestlers. A senior official of Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF) was hopeful of a good result.

“If our wrestlers are able to play with the way they compete here in Pakistan then I assure you that at least two will qualify,” the official told The News. “Draws of all four wrestlers are not bad,” he was quick to add. The tournament will follow a bracket system and two semi-finalists from each weight division obtain quotas for their respective country.