LAHORE: Pakistan’s renowned Olym­pian wrestler Haji Mohammad Afzal died of coronavirus in New York on Wednesday. He was 81.

Afzal represented the country at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics where he was ruled out of the semi-final due to an injury.

For the last month or so Afzal had been in New York, where he suffered from coronavirus and could not survive. New York has been hit hardest by the epidemic in the US.

Afzal was born on April 7, 1939. Due to his prominence as a wrestler, President Ayub Khan gave him the title of ‘Sher-e-Pakistan’ in 1960.

Afzal trained a number of prominent wrestlers. His famous students include Bas­hir Bholabhala, Tayyab Raza Awan, Tiger Wrestler and Usman Majeed Blue Wrestler.

The deceased wrestler has left three sons in the US and one in Lahore to mourn his death.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2020