Inam wants bio-secure bubble for Olympics preparation

KARACHI: Pakistan’s premier wrestler Mohammad Inam on Thursday urged the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) to create a bio-secure bubble for the Olympics aspirants to train for the Olympics and qualifying rounds.

“If we see the rest of the nations, including India, keeping in view looming Olympics they have created bio-secure bubbles where their Olympics hopefuls are training in a secure environment,” the two-time world beach wrestling champion told ‘The News’ in an interview.

“We have a few wrestlers who have the capability to qualify for the Olympics. There are a couple of top weightlifters Talha Talib and Nooh Dastgir Butt, karateka Saadi Abbas and Arshad Nadeem, who has already qualified. If a bio-secure bubble is created for them it will help them undergo good training for the Olympics and qualifiers. There players should get the opportunity,” Inam said.

“The whole world has made its mind and has made a plan how to tackle Covid-19 and how to keep sports activities going. A national event in which around 150 players feature cannot be possible in this situation. The bio-secure bubble for a few top-class national athletes of the country will be very helpful in this situation,” said Inam, a two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist.

“Our wrestling Olympics qualifying rounds are also going to begin next month. If we have four wrestlers capable of qualifying for the Olympics then a camp for ten werestlers should have been held by the PSB,” said Inam, part of the three-member Pakistan’s wrestling squad which will feature in the Asian qualifiers for Olympics and the Asian Championship to be held in Almaty next month.

Japan-based Haroon Abid and Inam’s cousin Mohammad Bilal are the other two.

Because of no state-funded camp the wrestlers have been put in a camp at the Punjab College Lahore by the Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF).

Inam said that Covid-19 and lack of state support have destroyed wrestling. “For the last one year we have been giving sacrifices. We have started training while observing SOPs in our wrestling arena. But overall wrestling has faced huge damage. More than half of arenas have been left deserted with wrestlers doing odd jobs to earn livelihood as they have no alternative,” said Inam, who also has to his credit World Games gold.

He said he was not happy with the way the government is treating wrestling which has been bringing medals home for several years.

“Before the PTI formed government, Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF) annual grant was Rs1,800,000. When the PTI government came it slashed it to Rs1500,000 but for the last two years the federation has not been given a single penny. The federation’s secretary Arshad Sattar had to pay Rs800,000 in membership fee of United World Wrestling for two years from his own pocket,” Inam said.

“Our medal-winning sport was put in C category while sports which have no capability of winning medals have been put in category A. This is ridiculous. If the government cannot pay the federation’s fee then how can it hold our camp? If the PSB cannot fund federations then what is it doing?” Inam questioned.