Shah Hussain bows out of Paris Grand Slam

KARACHI: Olympian judoka Shah Hussain faced exit in the second round when he lost to Sviryd Mikita of Belarus in the -100 kilogramme Group B competition of the Grand Slam in Paris on Sunday.

Tokyo-based Shah had a bright start to his journey when he defeated 21-year-old Saneblidze Onise of Georgia in the first round. However, Shah, who had represented Pakistan at 2016 Rio Olympics, failed to overcome a much tougher fighter Mikita of Belarus, facing an exit in the second round.

Shah, who has already achieved continental quota, will now stay in Paris for a few more days to undergo training. The son of former Pakistani boxer Hussain Shah, Shah Hussain’s next target is Grand Slam which will be held in Dusseldorf (Germany) from February 21-23.

He is currently the top seed in his weight in Asia, occupying 42nd place. In order to earn Olympic ticket, he will either have to maintain his top spot in Asia or will have to qualify directly for the world’s most prestigious competitions which will be held coming summer in Shah’s hometown. Last time Shah had qualified for Olympics on continental quota. He still has to play in scores of qualifying events until May 30. If he features in maximum of them then certainly he will have a chance to qualify directly.

Meanwhile, in women’s 57 kilogramme, Japan-based Pakistani fighter Amina Toyoda failed to clear the first hurdle when she went down to Beischmidt Ines of Germany in the first round. Pakistan Judo Federation (PJF) plans to give Amina some chance in the qualifiers to test her mettle.