4 Pakistani wrestlers to participate in Asian Championships
Four freestyle wrestlers from Pakistan will reach New Delhi on February 18 to compete in the Asian Championships.
Four freestyle wrestlers from Pakistan will reach New Delhi on February 18 to compete in the Asian Championships. They will be accompanied by two officials. After a lot of dilly-dallying, the Pakistani contingent was eventually issued visas on Saturday evening for the event slated from February 18 to 23.
"It is a big relief for us, as uncertainty over our participation had started taking a toll on the preparation of our wrestlers. It is an important event ahead of the Asian Olympic qualifiers (lined up for March) and we certainly do not want to miss the opportunity,” Farid Ali, the Pakistan Wrestling Federation’s operational manager, said from Lahore.
Muhammad Bilal (57kg), Abdul Rehman (74kg), Tayab Raza (97kg) and Zaman Anwar (125kg) will be representing the country in the continent’s showpiece wrestling event.
The Pakistani wrestling contingent will be the first team from across the Wagah border to travel to India for a sporting event after the Pulwama terror attack in February last year.
“The Pakistani wrestlers will compete only in the freestyle category. Due to that, they can afford to arrive in India a couple of days late. Countries which have sent entries in all three categories (men’s and women’s freestyle and Greco Roman) have started arriving already.
Greco-Roman bouts will be held on the first two days, followed by women’s wrestling over the next two days. Competition in the men’s freestyle category will be held on the last two days.
