ISLAMABAD: Star wrestler Inam Butt, who won gold medal in the last Commonwealth Games, is very much optimistic to repeat the feat in Glasgow.

“I have been doing hard work for the last two years to clinch the gold medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. I’m very much optimistic to achieve my target,” he said.

A seven-member wrestling team is also part of the 83-member Pakistani contingent which is going to participate in the Commonwealth Games, slated to begin in Glasgow, Scotland from July 23 to Aug 3.

Speaking to Dawn on the sidelines of a training camp here on Friday at the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), the 24-year-old freestyle wrestler said he will fight in the 86-kilogram weight category.

Butt, who belongs to the Gujranwala district which is also known as the city of wrestlers, said he considered Indian and Canadian wrestles as his real competitors.

In the 2010 Games held in India, he won the gold in the 84kg category by defeating Indian wrestler Anoj Kumar.

“I am working on various techniques to handle Indian wrestlers,” he said, adding that wrestlers of other countries have an edge over Pakistani wrestlers, who could not take part in any international event after the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Even wrestlers of other countries, including the Indian wrestlers, got dozens of opportunities to fight with international players.

He felt that the dispute which rose as a result of the parallel body of the POA, led by Akram Sahi, also left negative impact on the wrestling federation, which failed to take part in any international event.

Like Butt, another experienced freestyle wrestler Azhar Hussain, who also won gold medal in the 55kg weight category in the last Common­wealth Games said that during the last four years, Pakistan wrestlers were not provided chances to participate in international competitions.

The seven-member wrestling squad, which is yet to be officially announced by the Pakistan Wrestling Federation, likely include Inam Butt, Azhar Hussain, Abdul Wahab, Mohammad Sulman, Qamar Abbas, Umair Tariq and Mohammad Zaman.

These players will leave for Glasgow during the third week of the July.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2014