Abdul Rehman pulls out of Asian Wrestling Championships

Pakistan’s now three-member wrestling squad, accompanied by a coach, will leave for New Delhi on Thursday (tomorrow) to feature in the Asian Wrestling Championships which have already started. 

The squad includes Mohammad Bilal (61kg), Tayyab Raza (97kg) and Zaman Anwar (125kg). Sohail Rasheed is accompanying the team as coach-cum-manager.

Young grappler Abdul Rehman was also scheduled to take part in the event but he decided to stay away because of an injury.

Tayyab (97kg) will be the first wrestler to contest his bout on February 22 while Bilal (61kg) and Zaman (125kg) will take to the arena on February 23rd. The team will return on February 24. 

Pakistan Wrestling Federation’s (PWF) secretary Arshad Sattar  said he was confident that Bilal and Zaman would pull off good performances. However, he was quick to add that Tayyab was still a bit immature. “He will improve as the time progresses,” Arshad said.

Bilal, who is the cousin of star wrestler Mohammad Inam, is being prepared for the Asian qualifiers to be held in Xian, China, from March 27-29. National wrestlers underwent training at the Punjab College Lahore for a few days.