Asian Cadet Championship: Pakistan uncover new judo sensation in Iftikhar

The 16-year-old shocks everyone by reaching round of 16.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Judo Federation (PJF) has found a new talent in 16-year-old Iftikhar Ahmad, who reached the round of 16 of the Asian Cadet Championship in Hong Kong.

According to PJF secretary Masood Ahmed, Iftikhar’s performance on his international debut came as a pleasant surprise for everyone, when he defeated Macau’s Chan Si Meng 4-1 in the first round of the -55 kg event.

However, the teenager from Faisalabad lost his next bout to a Korean player after a close fight.

“Iftikhar made us proud,” Ahmed told The Express Tribune. “This boy stood for more than four minutes in a bout and even when he lost to a Korean player, he lost by only half a point. It’s incredible, because if our boys are able to face such competition and hold their own in a match, it shows that they are improving. They have time to learn; they are just 16.”

Pakistan were fielding two athletes in the cadet championship and the other, Muhammad Shoaib, lost to his opponent from Kyrgyzstan in the -60 kg event.

Ahmed said Iftikhar and Shoaib hail from the Army Cadet School in Abbottabad which is working in collaboration with the PJF to groom upcoming talent. “We joined hands with the Army sports department in 2012,” he said. “The idea was simple; Army will open a school where the children will study and will also receive professional training for certain sports and in this case, they opted for judo.”

The PJF secretary went on to praise the project. “It’s a great project, and this will ultimately support the PJF, giving us talented players; turning them into sportsmen from a young age.”

The next judo competition will now be Hijrat Khan’s in the -60kg event at the Asian Junior Judo Championship.

The competition will have U21 players only, whereas Pakistan’s main medal hope, Wajahat Sarwar, will compete in the -90kg event tomorrow.

“It’s Hijrat’s debut as well, so we aren’t too sure if he can win a medal, but we have great expectations from Wajahat,” said Ahmed.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th,  2014.

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