ISLAMABAD, Nov 1 (APP): A three-member Pakistan judo team returned home on Tuesday after featuring in Judo Grand-Slam Abu Dhabi 2016 that concluded on Monday.
Pakistan’s Naeem Akram (-73kg), Qaisar Khan (-81kg) and Wajahat Sarwar (-100kg) represented the country in the event. But they remained unable to impress and were out of the event after their initial fights.
“Naeem and Wajahat were out of the event after the first round, while
Qaisar who received bye in the first round was out after the second round,” Vice President Pakistan Judo Federation (PJF) Masood Ahmed told APP.
Nadeem was defeated by Azerbaijan’s Fagan Gulzada, who finished fifth in the event, while Qasair Khan suffered defeat at the hands of Frank de Wit of Netherland, who remained second. Wajahat was beaten by Aibek Serikbayev of Kazakhstan, who got third position in the event.
Though, Pakistani judokas remained unimpressive in the event, Masood said participation in the event mattered a lot as they had got much needed international exposure.
“It was the first ever international appearance of Naeem and Qaisar. Although, they lost their fights, we are satisfied because they gave a tough time to their opponents, who had a lot of international experience.
“Obviously, they’ve learnt a lot and will come up with better performances in the future. It’s very rare a judoka starts winning at the outset of his career. This is how all learn,” he maintained.
A total of 155 judokas of different weight categories, including 60 female participated in the event.
It may be mentioned here that Pakistan’s Japan-based judoka Shah Hussain Shah, who fights in -100kg category did not feature in the event, though the federation tried to convince him for that.
Masood said Shah had a golden chance to improve his world ranking by finishing at the top in the event but he did not take part in the event as he said he wanted to take rest after the Rio Olympics.
Shah was the only athlete from Pakistan, who sealed a spot at
Rio Olympics under the continental. However, he remained unable to claim any medal in
the world’s coveted multi-sports event.
