On Friday, Pakistan’s wrestling squad had two gold medals within grasp at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. In the end, they only received two silver medals for their efforts.
Following the failure of the country’s leading hope, Mohammad Inam, in the much-anticipated Indo-Pak duel again for +86kg title, Zaman Anwar got collared in the +125kg final at the Coventry Arena.
Their medals add to the bronze medal won earlier in the +65kg division by compatriot Inayatullah, bringing Pakistan’s medal count to five so far at the Games.
If Shajar Abbas makes the podium in the men’s 200m final on Saturday, Pakistan might win another medal. After finishing third in the preliminary round, the 22-year-old sprinter earned a ticket in the final.Weightlifter Nooh Dastagir Butt delivered Pakistan’s lone gold medal, there were great expectations that Inam could add another winner’s medal.
But the 33-year-old, who was dominant in the previous edition of the Games in Australia, couldn’t repeat that achievement in the final, losing 3-0 to Indian competitor Deepak Punia.
Inam wasn’t at his finest throughout the fight against Punia, who is ten years his junior, and was booked for inactivity early on before the Indian effectively forced his adversary out of the circle to take a 2-0 lead.
