Shah faces Tajik fighter in World Judo Championships today

KARACHI: Pakistan’s premier judoka and 2020 Olympics hope Shah Hussain will face Saidov Saidzhalol of Tajikistan in his -100 kilogramme first round competitions of the World Judo Championships in Tokyo on Friday (today).

Japan-based Shah, ranked 99th in the world, is confident of a good show.“I am confident to put in my best,” Shah told 'The News'. The event is very important for the Tokyo-based fighter and former Asian bronze medallist.

Shah has not got enough exposure in 2019, having featured only in the Asian Championships where he finished fifth. This was the third successive time that Shah finished fifth in the continental event.

In 2015 edition of the continental event, Shah claimed bronze medal.Shah became Pakistan's first fighter to qualify for Olympics, in 2016 in Rio Games.

World Championships in Tokyo also serves as Olympic qualifiers. Shah’s Tajik opponent in the first round is a gutsy fighter, having 54th world ranking.But Shah has the ability to beat him as he has improved himself a lot recently.

“We expect a lot from Shah in the event,” Pakistan Judo Federation's (PJF) vice-president Masood Ahmed told 'The News' after returning from Tokyo on Thursday.Masood and PJF chief Col Junaid visited Tokyo to attend world judo governing body (PJF) Congress.

“Shah has already beaten his first round opponent from Tajikistan. But it would be a tough event for Shah as the world’s leading fighters arethere, eyeing Olympics berths,” Masood said.“They are highly experienced and some have won medals in Olympics. Everyone has an eye on the Olympics slot,” he said.

Masood added that Shah would need to feature in more events in the next few months so that he could compete for the Olympics seat.“Our president Col Junaid met with the IJF and Pakistan’s ambassador in Japan so that we could get some sort of support for Shah. But we arewaiting for the government to come forward and back Shah as he has the guts to press for Olympics seat for the second successive time,” Masood added.

In the global event in Tokyo Pakistan have fielded four fighters. The other three exited in the first rounds. They were Tokyo-based Amina Toyoda, Humaira Ashiq and Mohammad Hasnain. “Amina and Humaira lost in the same style. They both were caught by their respective opponents through counterattacks. Hasnain remained confident and the way he entered the arena for the fight he exuded great confidence and we saw in him a future prospect. We will focus on him,” Masood said. Hasnain (-66kg) belongs to Faisalabad.