KARACHI: Pakistan’s Inam Butt had to settle for a silver medal in Beach Wrestling World Series in Rio de Janeiro after going down 2-0 in the final against Dato Marsagishvili of Georgia, allegedly due to a bad decision by the referee.
Inam, who was undefeated on his way to the final, lost the bout 2-0 by VPO.
He had earlier defeated Grigorios Kriaridis in the semifinal.
With the silver medal in Brazil, Inam has also qualified for World Beach Games, scheduled to be played in October in San Diego, USA.
Following his final bout, Inam said he was deprived of a certain gold medal due to a wrong decision by the referee which went against him.
“In final I was competing against Olympic Bronze medalist player and I believe that I fought well but unfortunately a bad decision was made against me which cost me the important point,” he said.
“A day before the game we were told that we are allowed to pull opponents’ leg with knees down but today when I applied the same, the point was given against me, which cost me the game,” Inam lamented, adding that he had lodged a formal complaint with United World Wrestling who were also apologetic on the matter.
However, he was happy with his overall performance in the Beach Wrestling World Series.
“I am thankful to Allah that I have won the silver medal for my country and have also qualified for the World Beach Games, to be played in America. I am the only Pakistani player to do so. I am also thankful to the nation who prayed for me and supported me,” he said.
Inam termed the medal a gift from him to the nation, and thanked the Punjab Sports Board and provincial sports minister Rai Taimur Bhatti for supporting him to ensure participation in the event.
