Pakistani wrestler Butt reveals his tactic to beat Indian opponent in CWG 2018

KARACHI: Wrestler Mohammad Inam Butt, Pakistan’s hero of the day, on Saturday revealed how he planned to get a psychological advantage against his Indian counterpart in the quarterfinal bout on his way to the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2018 gold medal.

In a video sent to Geo.tv, the two-time CWG Gold medalist said he changed the Indian chants, in his mind, into those in his favour. “Indian fans were in big numbers at the arena and they were supporting Somveer who was the top favourite to win the title,” he said.

“They all were chanting ‘India, India’, and that moment I convinced myself that these chants are Inam, Inam, and not ‘India, India’,” revealed the Pakistani wrestler.

The 29-year-old added that after overpowering the Indian wrestler, he became confident of winning the Gold medal.

He also revealed how he planned for the final against his Nigerian opponent Melvin Bibo.

“I sat with my coaching staff and analysed his weaknesses and strengths,” the wrestler said.

“We discussed every detail of the game and prepared a comprehensive plan to topple the Bibo, who’s also the world number 2 and African champion of his weight category,” Inam said about his Gold medal bout in 86kg category of wrestling competition.

The wrestler said that he would dedicate this victory to the Pakistani nation because he was able to win it only because of prayers of the nation.

“Credit goes to everyone who made it possible for me, from my families to my fellow wrestlers from Pakistan Sports Board to Pakistan Wrestling Federation. This is Pakistan’s medal and I am thankful that I managed to win this,” he added.

Inam now has set his eyes on next Olympics, but also demands support from the government. He also highlighted the fact that his request for financial support before Commonwealth Games to government remained unheard.

“For Olympics, you prepare for all four years. People started 2020 planning soon after 2016. Even India is planning for 2020 Olympics since 2016. We still have two years to Olympics and if we get proper opportunity to train and government supports us then we can repeat this performance in Olympics as well,” he said.

“I appealed to government four months ago to grant me a million rupees for my training but I didn’t get anything. Nevertheless, I got it arranged at my own and some from PWF and managed to train myself. Wrestlers have done hard work for Pakistan. We deserve support from government,” he noted.