Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: There is good news for the Pakistan wrestling team and their fans as the Indian High Commission in Islamabad has granted visas to six out of the seven members of the Pakistan team for the Asian Junior Wrestling Championship at New Delhi’s KD Jadhav Wrestling Stadium from July 17. Haroon Abid, who is the nephew of former wrestler Zubair Jhara, is the unlucky wrestler whose visa was rejected by the Indian High Commission. Abid is currently in Japan and training at the Wrestler Anooki Club. “I got a call from an official of the Islamabad High Commission of India and they have informed us about the stamped visas for four wrestlers and two officials,” Pakistan Wrestling Federation secretary general Arshad Sattar said Friday.

Four wrestlers – Inayat Ullah (65kg), Ghulam Ghous (70kg), Muhammad Usman (79kg) and Haseeb Mustafa (86kg) -will now represent Pakistan in this event. Coach Sohail Rasheed and team manager Muhammad Riaz will travel with the team. “It’s unfortunate that Abid’s visa application was rejected and it is certainly a setback for us because Abid is in good shape and he could have won us a medal,” added Sattar. “But now we can’t do anything about it. I am still confident that our wrestlers can win two or three medals in their events, depending on the kind of draws we get.” The Asian Junior Wrestling Championship is a six-day Freestyle and Greco-Roman style championship that is featuring athletes from 17 countries, including traditionally strong countries such Iran, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Japan and Mongolia. The Indian High Commission also issued visas to the Pakistan squash contingent last week, allowing the team to participate at the World Junior Squash Championships to be held in Chennai from July 17 to 29. Last Year, the Pakistan wrestling contingent could not participate in an event after being denied Indian visas. The team departs for India on Tuesday.

Published in Daily Times, July 14^th 2018.