Islamabad: The next thing on Pakistan wrestler Inam Butt’s to-do list is to bag an Olympic gold for Pakistan.
The two-time gold medallist at Commonwealth Games told a private news channel that the government should invest in athletes that have potential and can represent Pakistan at the Olympics.
Butt’s cousin Mohammad Bilal, who bagged a bronze in the Games, was also part of the programme.
Butt bagged Pakistan’s only gold medal at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. He outclassed his opponent Melvin Bibo of Nigeria in the final of 86kg weight category. Butt had previously won a gold medal at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010.
Talking about the Games, Butt said that no opponent could be taken lightly, adding that, “each of the matches was a ‘do or die’ contest”.
When it came to training, Butt said intensive training went into preparing for the games.
He, alongside his coach and cousin, spent nearly six months before the Games preparing and going through each opponent’s techniques. “My Indian opponent was a favourite of the fans so I prepared extra hard for that match,” he confessed.
“When I entered the arena, everyone was chanting pro-India slogans. I used the chants from the Indian fans and turned them into my favour; thus taking on my opponent head on. I won the match with some aggressive wrestling in a minute and a half,” he added.
He acknowledged the role of the wrestling federation and Pakistan Sports Board in helping him prepare for the event but regretted that most of the financial burden fell on him.
