Boosted by SAG gold, Shah Hussain eyes Rio qualification
SHILLONG: Judoka Shah Hussain Shah inflated Pakistan’s gold medal tally to 12 as the South Asian Games came to a close on Tuesday and immediately set sights on qualifying for this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Shah won the men’s -100kg final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Sports Hall when he overcame Indian Shubham Kumar in a minute and 29 seconds on the last day of competition at the regional extravaganza.
It was the second gold for Pakistan in judo on Tuesday after Fouzia Mumtaz earlier won the women’s -78kg final as the country finished third in the medals table with 106 (12-37-57), behind toppers and hosts India’s 308 (188-90-30) and Sri Lanka’s 186 (25-63-98).
But Shah, currently ranked 46th in IJF rankings, remains Pakistan’s only hope at the Olympics after the hockey team failed to make the cut.
“My aim is to get more than 200 points to qualify for the Olympics,” Shah Hussain, looking to emulate his father; boxer Hussain Shah who won bronze at the 1988 Olympics, told Press Trust of India news agency.
“There’s Pan America in March in Argentina, and the Asian championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in April. I am sure I can make the grade. I want to achieve something for the country like my dad.”
Earlier in a tricky women’s -78kg field, Fouzia edged out India’s Aruna with 210 points to 200 in a round-robin league after the category saw just four contestants.
Fouzia and Aruna had an exciting fight in which the former flipped her rival onto her back for a waza-ari and the score ended 10-0, which ultimately proved crucial in getting her the gold.
There was also a silver for Pakistan on Tuesday after Beenish Khan lost an evenly-contested women’s -70kg final to India’s Pooja in 3:03 minutes while Afzal Bashir claimed bronze in the men’s -90kg event.
Final medals table
(Tabulated under: participating country, gold, silver, bronze, total):
India 188 90 30 308
Sri Lanka 25 63 98 186
Pakistan 12 37 57 106
Afghanistan 7 9 19 35
Bangladesh 4 15 56 75
Nepal 3 23 34 60
Maldives 0 2 1 3
Bhutan 0 1 15 16
Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2016