Commonwealth Games 2010: Pakistan’s first two gold medals in wrestling
The Pakistani contingent was as troubled as the Organizing Committee of the Indian Commonwealth Games. First the contingent was hit by the flag carrying controversy at the opening ceremony and then there was a theft in the room of the chef de Mission, Dr.
Shah. But the team was more than happy when Azhar Hussain, who clinched the first gold medal for the team in wrestling in 40 years. He won the gold medal in the 55 kg freestyle quarterfinal event, defeating the local wrestler Anil Kumar.
The chairman of the Organizing Committee, Suresh Kalmadi was very happy at this achievement and he especially congratulated the members of Team Pakistan. In a press release, Kalmadi was quoted as saying, “192 gold medals have been won so far and 33 countries
have won some medal or the other. Pakistan has won its first gold medal in 40 years and we are happy about it. it will promote friendship through sports.”
The chairman went on to say, “I cannot forget that Pakistan supported us in getting the Commonwealth Games bid, so we are happy that we are reciprocating it.”
Suresh did however make a mistake while talking to the correspondents about the victorious Pakistani wrestler. He pronounced the name of the Indian competitor wrong, calling him Anuj Khan instead of Anil Kumar.
The final wrestling event that took place at the Gandhi Sports Complex on Sunday proved out to be a lucky one for Pakistan since the Pakistani wrestlers ended up winning not just one, but two gold medals. Azhar Hussain defeated his opponent in the second
round, while the first period concluded at 3-3. The fans were overwhelmed after this victory, since the nation achieved its first Commonwealth Games gold medal in over four decades now. The first medal that was won by Azhar was against the Nigerian wrestler,
Ebikewenimo Welson.
In the post event interview, Azhar said, “It was the passion to win for the country that kept me going as I could not afford to lose in front of Indian leaders including Sonia Gandhi.”
Hussain also won the silver medal at the 120 kg event in the Greco-Roman category, the event that took place in the first few days of the Delhi Games.
The second gold medal was won by Mohammad Inam, who dominated the 84 kg division event. He is a student of the Punjab University, Lahore. Inam pinned the Indian wrestler, Anuj Chaudhry in a fierce battle that could not come to a conclusion. Both the wrestlers
ended up in a tie at 3-3.
Taking to the correspondents after the event, Inam said, “It was very intense in front of a noisy crowd but I made up my mind that I have to win in any case.”
Being archrivals, the encounter of India and Pakistan has always gained popularity and attention in every sport. Be it cricket, hockey or now even wrestling the crowd has always been large and extremely enthusiastic when the two nations come together to
play. Both the players play for their country more than they play for their own sake. In some sports like cricket, the opposition becomes so intense that the competitions become a matter of do or die. When the overall ticket sell out of the events at the Games
was just 10-20 percent in the first 2 or three days of the mega event, the most sales of the tickets were made for the hockey match between India and Pakistan which was scheduled for the third day of the Commonwealth Games.
In the final wrestling encounter of the seventh day, Arjan Bhullar from Team Canada, defeated the local wrestler, Joginder Singh at 4-0 and thus clinched the gold medal in the 120 kg category.
“I knew it was going to come down to me and India. We both knew that. It was good to have it in the finals – high stakes, high pressure,” Bhullar said after the he successfully concluded the event.
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