Pakistan's Inam set to defend wrestling title in Turkey

29-year-old to play first tournament after recovering from knee injury

KARACHI: Pakistan's top wrestler Muhammad Inam Butt believes he will be able to defend his 90-kg title at the Beach World Wrestling Championships in Turkey despite the odds.

The 29-year-old is making a comeback this year after taking a break following a knee injury due to which he had to skip the Asian Games. Inam views the upcoming championship as the right opening to make up for his hiatus; his eyes are on the prize.

"I didn't go to Asian Games, so the Beach World Wrestling Championships is that one event I was looking forward to," Inam told The Express Tribune before leaving for Turkey with the 2016 Beach Asian Games bronze medallist Asad Butt.

"I want to win there too, but I am aware of the challenge, it will not be easy. But I need this event, I'm doing well and now the doctors have also approved my back return to the ring. I'm feeling good about this. I need to defend my title with all I've got."

Speaking about the preparations Inam said other countries and the opponents are better prepared than him, and the event is an opportunity where each wrestler gauges another ahead of the Olympic qualifiers.

"There is a big year ahead, there are Commonwealth Wrestling Championships, then the wrestlers will be fighting their hearts out to make sure that they get a place in Olympics, because the qualifiers will start in 2019. We also have South Asian Games scheduled, so this event is important before all those begin, for me it’s important to win," said Inam.



He added that in his category the competition comes from Iran, India, central Asian countries the US and hosts Turkey.

Inam prepared for the event in Gujranwala where there is no beach. He said that he had to create a beach-like environment in order to train for this event, as there had been no support for them from the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB)

"The wrestlers from other countries have a choice to go abroad and prepare at the beaches too, we don't, we couldn't even go to Karachi, because the PSB didn't help us with the training camp. The Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF) tried to do whatever it could with limited resources, so we only had the option of preparing in our home town," said Inam.

His akhara (wrestling gym) is in Gujranwala near Sheikhupura moor where they train all year long.

"We get the sand and we train, we need surface that resembles that of a beach because there is a difference between competing on a wrestling mat and just sand," said Inam.

The 2018 and 2010 Commonwealth Games gold-medallist has been vocal about the wrestlers' need to be trained abroad and continues to make multiple requests to the PSB to help develop wrestling further.