Pakistan's Inayat and Gulzar eliminated at Asian Games

Pakistan's wrestling campaign at the Asian Games ended in disappointment as Inayat Ullah and Muhammad Gulzar were eliminated on Saturday. Inayat lost 12-2 to Kazakhstan's Nurkozha Kaipanov in the men's freestyle 74kg round of 16, while Gulzar suffered defeats in the 97kg competition. Gulzar first lost 10-0 to Iran's Amirali Azarpira, then fell again in a repechage bout against Turkmenistan's Shatlyk Hemelyayev, failing to score in either match. Pakistan Wrestling Federation president Arshad Sattar attributed the poor results to a lack of mat-wrestling exposure, noting athletes come from mud-wrestling backgrounds. In taekwondo, Hamzah Omar Saeed exited the men's +80kg competition after a 2-0 loss to Thailand's Jack Mercer. Pakistani wrestlers Mohammad Abdullah and Noman Zaka were eliminated on Friday, with Shahzaib Khan also bowing out earlier in the games.