Funding crunch threatens Olympic wrestling

PWF seeks Rs30 million to prepare three wrestlers for qualification campaign

KARACHI:

Pakistan has considerable wrestling talent but a lack of facilities, financial assistance and international exposure has stunted the sport’s growth and hampered the country’s Olympic ambitions.

Pakistan has failed to qualify a wrestler for the Olympics for decades, with limited state patronage and inadequate participation in international competitions undermining its athletes’ chances of improving their rankings and securing qualification.

With the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics approaching, Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF) says a lack of resources remains the biggest obstacle to its qualification campaign.

“We have a bunch of wrestlers who can qualify for the Los Angeles Games if the state provides assistance. We will need Rs30 million to prepare our top three wrestlers, including Inayatullah, Abdullah and Mohammad Gulzar,” PWF secretary Mohammad Inam told The Express Tribune.

Inam said that the amount would cover international exposure, including participation in the rankings series, Asian Championships and World Championships, while the federation would try to arrange training through its own resources.

“We are already late in our Olympic qualification mission, as you need to plan for four years from one Olympics to the next,” he added.

Inam said the federation wished to send its leading wrestlers abroad for six months of training ahead of the Nagoya Asian Games but could not do so because of financial constraints.

Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) sponsored only two members of the wrestling squad for the Asian Games, while the federation paid for the remaining three, he said.

“Last year, we were given Rs3 million by the PSB as a grant, while this year we have not been given even a single penny,” Inam said, adding that the wrestlers’ departments had also declined to provide financial support.

The federation is struggling to meet even its administrative expenses, he said, noting that attracting sponsors remained difficult without major international medals.

Despite the challenges, Inam believes Pakistan can still qualify for Los Angeles if financial assistance is provided and preparations begin immediately.

“We are in talks with Kyrgyzstan to explore training opportunities, but we will still need money for the wrestlers’ air tickets and accommodation. The hosts would provide the training facilities,” he said.

No Pakistani wrestler has received an International Olympic Committee (IOC) scholarship for the current cycle, further complicating preparations.

Under the Los Angeles 2028 wrestling qualification system, places will be available through the World Championships, the United World Wrestling (UWW) rankings series, continental championships and Olympic qualification tournaments.

The qualification process is due to begin in February 2027, making timely financial support crucial if Pakistan is to give its leading wrestlers a realistic chance of reaching the Games.

Inam, a former beach wrestling world champion, urged the authorities to support the federation’s plans, warning that continued financial constraints could deprive Pakistan’s wrestlers of a valuable opportunity to compete at the Olympics.

Wrestling has a huge talent and in recent years the country has delivered extremely well especially at the Commonwealth Games.

Pakistan had impressed in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games with multiple medals. However this year’s Glasgow Commonwealth Games did not feature wrestling and Pakistan could only bring one bronze in boxing.

National grapplers need consistent support from the state which is the only source which can put the country’s wrestling on the path of progression.

Wrestlers mostly earn through mud-wrestling and this is also the biggest hurdle and it obstructs their performance when they come to mat-wrestling which needs more speed and agility. But there is no alternative as wrestlers need to earn their livelihood.

There is the biggest need to promote Olympic wrestling and it would be the only way to go ahead in the discipline, otherwise

, it would be too tough to compete with the world’s best.