PJF plans to arrange training for Shah Hussain in Uzbekistan

Pakistan Judo Federation (PJF) plans to manage a few days of training for Japan-based judoka Shah Hussain in Uzbekistan ahead of the Asian Championship which would be held in Tashkent from April 15-17.

“We have written to the Uzbekistan’s judo authorities for the purpose and hopefully they will reply positively,” PJF secretary Masood Ahmed told ‘The News’.

“Uzbekistan has the biggest training centre in Asia and undergoing training there will benefit Shah and our other judokas who we plan to send there for training ahead of the continental event,” Masood said.

The Asian Championship is the most important event for Shah who is striving to grab an Olympic berth.

Ahead of the Asian Championship, Shah is scheduled to field in the Grand Prix to be held in the Turkey’s city of Samsun from April 1-3.

“The preparation is being made for the Turkish event,” Masood said. “Shah is undergoing training in Japan and I hope that he will play well in Turkey and get a few more points,” the official said.

Shah, the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games silver medallist and two-time bronze medallist of the Asian Championship, stands at 47th spot in the world rankings which were released by the International Judo Federation (IJF) on March 14. Shah plays in -100 kilogramme.

If he wins a medal in Tashkent, he will qualify for the Rio Games. In doing so, he would also become the first Pakistani judoka to feature in Olympics.

After the continental event, Shah would still have a few more qualifiers ahead like Grand Slam and Grand Prix to be held in the Azerbaijan’s capital Baku and Almaty in May, respectively.

The qualifiers would continue till May 29. Shah is unfortunate to have missed a few vital assignments during the last one year which could have helped him augment his qualifying chances for the world’s most prestigious event to be held in Brazil in August.

)Source: The News)