LAHORE: The next thing on Pakistan wrestler Inam Butt’s to-do list is to bag Olympic gold for Pakistan. The two-time gold medallist said Friday that the government should invest in athletes who had potential and can represent Pakistan at the Olympics. Inam’s cousin Mohammad Bilal, who bagged a bronze in the games, was also present on the occasion. Inam bagged Pakistan’s only gold medal at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. He completely outclassed his opponent Melvin Bibo of Nigeria in the final of 86kg weight category. A two-time gold medallist, Inam had previously won a gold medal at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010. Talking about the games, Inam said that no opponent could be taken lightly, adding that, “each of the matches was a ‘do or die’ contest”. When it came to training, Inam said intensive training went into preparing for the games. He, alongside his coach and cousin, spent nearly six months before the games preparing and going through each opponent’s techniques.
“My Indian opponent was a favourite of the fans so I prepared extra for that match,” he confessed. “When I entered the arena, everyone was chanting pro India slogans. I used the chants from the Indian fans and turned them into my favour; thus taking on my opponent headstrong. I won the match with some aggressive wrestling in a minute and a half,” he added. With the rules changing for wrestling, Inam said that wrestlers with the same weight now compete in the same category to give equal opportunity to everyone taking apart in the tournament. Unlike 10, 20 years ago when everyone could take on each other under the banner of wrestling, the new rules help in pitting the same category wrestlers against each other. Someone who weighs 57kg could not compete against someone who weighs a 100kg, he asserted. Of course, this meant that those who competed in the 57kg like his cousin Bilal had to watch their diet and maintain their weight. Talking about funds, Inam said that the wrestling federation had an annual budget of Rs1.8 million compared to India’s Rs500 million. Inam believes if investment is carried out in sports like wrestling, it would not be long before Pakistan would be winning gold in the Olympics. He acknowledged the role of the wrestling federation and Pakistan Sports Board in helping him prepare for the event but regretted that most of the financial burden fell on him.
Published in Daily Times, April 21st 2018.