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Olympics delay to help me a lot: Hussain

  • April 03, 2020

Olympics delay to help me a lot: Hussain

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Olympian judoka Shah Hussain on Thursday said that the one-year delay of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will benefit him a lot. “Personally I think it will benefit me a lot,” Shah told The News in an interview from Tokyo. “It will help me prepare well for the rest of the qualifiers which will be rescheduled in the next few months,” Shah said. Shah, who competes in -100 kg weight category, has already achieved Olympic spot on continental quota as he is the top seed of Asia in his weight category. But according to the rules the two-time Asian bronze medallist will have to maintain this position until the end of the Olympic qualifiers.

However it is yet to be seen how International Judo Federation (IJF) reschedule the qualifiers and whether it makes changes in the system following the postponement of the Olympics because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This certainly would be the second successive time that the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games silver medallist fighter will represent Pakistan in the Olympics. He had made history when he became the first judoka of Pakistan to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics. At that time too Shah had made it to the Olympics on the basis of continental quota following his consistent solid performances in the two-year long qualifying rounds. Shah’s father Hussain Shah had also represented Pakistan in boxing in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and won the only medal which the country has to its credit in boxing in the Olympics history.

Shah will have to compete in around four more qualifying events. Pakistan Judo Federation (PJF) also aims to field him in most of these events so that he could further boost his ranking. Shah said that if he remains fit he will go for a medal also this time. Shah is satisfied with his last one year performance in the qualifiers.

“Those fighters who have qualified have just kept their positions intact but if I see my own performance during the last one year it has been outstanding as compared to the previous year,” Shah observed. Despite COVID-19 issue Shah still is doing training with his coach in Tokyo.

Shah observed that in Japan the issue of coronavirus is not being taken seriously. “My observation is that here the issue is not being taken seriously. Markets are opened and there is no panic,” Shah said. “The virus also cannot more affect youngsters like me and I am also not too worried for myself but for my parents as they are old,” Shah said. To a question who in his views should be prepared for the 2024 Olympics when he will retire from international Judo Shah said that Qaiser Afridi and Hasnain are the best.

Article source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/638432-olympics-delay-to-help-me-a-lot-hussain

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