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NEW DELHI: Muhammad Inam of Pakistan won his team’s second Commonwealth Games wrestling title within an hour on Sunday — after the country had gone 40 years without a gold.
Inam was outplayed and overpowered by Kumar in the first session but, spurred on by teammate Azhar Hussain’s victory in the 55kg final, the big wrestler found the inspiration to overcome the favourite and the chants of a partisan home crowd.
Inam won the next two sessions by the narrowest of margins to take the bout 4-3.
“I am not satisfied with today,” Kumar said. “I don’t know how but my performance was not up to the mark. I cannot understand why.
“The first half of the bout was on my side but suddenly my opponent’s defence placed great pressure on me.”
Before Sunday, Pakistan had not taken a Games wrestling title since they won four golds in Edinburgh 1970.
The 84kg class was the tightest in the men’s freestyle tournament. Inam earned a shot at gold after defeating Gerald Waldemar Meyer of South Africa in a tough semi while Kumar was trailing in his own semifinal against Andrew Dick of Nigeria before scoring with less than 20 seconds left to take the match.
Dick went on to take the bronze against Meyer, but it was no consolation for failing to make the final.
“I’m not feeling good,” he said. “I was expecting to have the gold.”
