Belt wrestling champions: Pakistan to host Asian and South Asian events

Jiu-jitsu federation to organise tournaments in Islamabad

KARACHI: Pakistan will be hosting the Asian Turkman Guresh Belt Wrestling Championships and South Asian Championships early next year with 30 countries expected to participate.

According to Pakistan Jiu-Jitsu Federation (PJJF) Sports Director Tariq Ali, the Asian body for the sport has approved of the event to take place in Islamabad, while the Pakistan Sports Board and the Inter-Provincial Coordination Ministry will also be involved in the staging of the event.

The Turkmenistan embassy is also scheduled to partake in the event as guresh, which is a similar sport as belt wrestling, is the national sport of the central Asian country.



“It’s a huge event,” Ali told The Express Tribune. “We’ll be hosting this in the best way possible. The dates for the event will be finalised later, but we’re planning for it to take place in January or February.”

Ali added that the players are training in Lahore for the event, with Pakistan planning to field the maximum number of athletes.

“We would want to field two teams each in belt wrestling free style and classic style events,” said the official. “Similarly, in guresh championships, there will be two teams. It’s permissible for the hosts to have the maximum number of athletes in the championship, and we see the same trend in international tournaments as well.”



He said that the PJJF will host the South Asian Championships two days before the Asian Championships commences.

Along with jiu-jitsu, the PJJF looks after belt wrestling as well, and the federation has two camps for each sport.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th, 2016.

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