Wrestlers, boxers salvage pride

Pakistan won two gold, one silver and a brace of bonze medals and finished 17th in the 71-nation Commonwealth Games.

KARACHI: While the nation had high hopes from Aisamul Haq Qureshi and the hockey team for the Commonwealth Games, it turned out to be the wrestlers and boxers that salvaged pride for the country in New Delhi.

Pakistan won two gold, one silver and a brace of bonze medals and finished 17th in the 71-nation event, the exact same spot that they finished on four years ago courtesy one gold, three silver and a bronze medal.

POA not pleased with performance

“The wrestlers lifted us and  made the country proud but it was not a satisfactory performance from the rest,” Pakistan Olympic Association Chief  Arif Hasan told The Express Tribune. “The boxers should also be praised as they worked hard and won medals.”

Pakistan took part in eight disciplines with weightlifting grabbing a gold a silver through Azhar Hussain and a gold from Mohammad Inam. Two bronze medals were also won by boxers Haroon Khan and Mohammad Waseem.

‘Hockey team disappoints’

The POA chairman, who had labelled hockey as a potential medal-winner for Pakistan, was deeply disappointed by the Greenshirts’ performance. Pakistan finished an embarrassing sixth after failing to qualify for the semis following 7-4 and 1-0 defeats at the hands of India and Australia.

“We were expecting a medal in hockey but it was disappointing to see them finish sixth. They started off well but lost rhythm in the middle and I hope to see them on the podium at the Asian Games.”

Weightlifters disappoint

The weightlifters, who brought two medals from Melbourne, returned empty-handed after failing in six categories. Pakistan’s main medal hope, Shujauddin Malik, was disqualified after injuring himself.

Meanwhile, Qureshi, who became an overnight star after featuring in the mixed and men’s doubles finals at the US Open, also failed to live up to the expectations, bowing out at an early stage in singles and doubles event. The squash players failed to grab the headlines as well and failed to reach even quarterfinals while the shooters, who fetched a silver in the last event, remained unimpressive.

Shuja retires

Dejected after being deprived of the honour of holding the national flag, Pakistani weightlifter  Shujauddin Malik has announced his retirement.

“I did all the hard work but Dr Shah deprived me of my right because of which I’m forced to announce my retirement,” Malik told Express News. The weightlifter won Pakistan’s only gold in the 2006 CWG and was the designated flag-bearer for the 2010 event.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2010.