Inter-Club wrestling begins in Gujranwala today

KARACHI: Besides having lifted several international medals for Pakistan in wrestling the country’s ace grappler and beach wrestling two-time world champion Mohammad Inam is also a genius organiser of wrestling competitions.

In a step to hunt talent he is going to organise Inter-Club Wrestling Championship for the first time in history in Gujranwala, the hub of wrestling, on Friday (today).In the one-day event around 100 Under-14 and Under-20 grapplers from five clubs of Gujranwala, Lahore, Faisalabad and Sheikhupura would be showcasing their talent at the Shahbaz Sharif Sports Complex Gujranawala.

“Yes we are going to write history,” Inam told ‘The News’ from Gujranwala on Thursday.“Inter-City events have been regularly held but inter-club event is being held for the first time. In the Inter-City events only top wrestlers get an opportunity to showcase their talent but in the inter-club competitions the rest of the talent would also get the chance to express themselves in a competitive environment,” the two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist said.

“I opted to take the initiative after getting a nod from the Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF). The federation is very much with me in the whole mission. I had given a proposal of inter-club event to the PWF secretary Arshad Sattar. He agreed and I am going to launch inter-club event tomorrow,” said Inam, who will be the only Pakistani player who would feature in the World Beach Games to be held in San Diego in October.

“We will take this event to other cities of Punjab which have exceptional talent. It will help create playing opportunities for the wrestlers who have the talent but are unable to move ahead due to lack of opportunities. Only national event cannot create ample chance for majority to express themselves,” Inam said.

“The cream of the event will then be taken to the college and university level. Here in Gujranwala and other cities of Punjab, particularly Lahore, our main effort is to manage free of cost admissions for our wrestlers on sports quota in colleges and universities. This helps them not only to flourish as wrestlers but they also get a chance to continue their education free of cost which helps them in their life. You know education is too costly these days and a wrestler cannot afford quality education,” Inam said.