Sharif downs New Zealand’s Hawkins, inches closer to gold in CWG

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan wrestler Sharif Tahir has moved one victory away from claiming a gold medal in the Men’s Freestyle 74kg Wrestling in the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022.

Young wrestler Sharif displayed sheer dominance over his New Zealand opponent Cole Hawkins and qualified for the final of the 74kg category.

In a one-sided semi-final, Sharif kept Hawkins on the back for the majority of the clash before running away with a consolidating 11-0 victory.

Following his qualification for the gold medal bout, Sharif has confirmed at least a silver medal for Pakistan.

Other national wrestlers Ali Asad and Tayab Raza, on the other hand, failed to produce a similar outcome in their respective semi-finals as they suffered crushing defeats from Indian and Canadian opponents respectively. The two wrestlers will now compete for the Bronze medal in the third-place clash.

As a result, Pakistan’s overall medal tally has risen to six as national wrestlers Inam Butt and Zaman Anwar earlier bagged a silver apiece, while Judo player Shah Hussain Shah and wrestler Inayatullah bagged a bronze each. Weightlifter Muhammad Nooh Dastgir Butt, on the other hand, thus remained the only gold medalist for Pakistan in the ongoing games.

READ: Sharif, Ali qualify for CWG Wrestling semi-finals in respective categories