Batirov eyes wrestling glory

Manama : Wrestler Adam Batirov arrived yesterday in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in Bahrain’s final medal quest at the ongoing Fifth Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.

The 32-year old will be competing for his country’s third medal at the games on Monday in the Men’s Freestyle 70kg and under weight category which gets underway at 4pm (Bahrain time).

Winner of last year’s Asian Championship’s under-70kg gold medal, Batirov will be looking to improve on his last major appearance at the Rio 2016 Olympics in the freestyle 65kg category, where he lost in the Round of 16 to Ikhtiyor Navruzov of Uzbekistan.

Batirov, who created a name for himself in the world of martial arts, progressed into the Rio Olympics last year after dominating the World Olympic Games qualifying tournament held in Mongolia.

Upon arrival, Batirov expressed confidence to bring another medal for Bahrain in Ashgabat and vowed to extend his hard work and effort in a bid to achieve another feat on the international level.

Batirov thanked HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and President of Bahrain Olympic Committee, for supporting him to be able to compete at a high level in wrestling.

Meanwhile, Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation president and Bahrain chef de mission Shaikh Faisal bin Rashid Al Khalifa received in Ashgabat representatives of the Bahrain media, the Bahrain taekwondo team and umpires at a special gathering at Yyldz Hotel.

Shaikh Faisal welcomed the audience and commended the efforts of the media to promote this event as well as the Kingdom of Bahrain teams taking part.

Late on, Shaikh Faisal and media representatives had open discussions on sports in Bahrain in general, and the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, in specific. Bahrain Olympic Committee general secretary and chef de mission deputy Abdulrahman Askar and other delegation officials were also present.

Bahrain’s medals have been won by Ali Monfaradi and Ahmed Shebeeb, who took the Jiu Jitsu men’s under-77kg gold and bronze, respectively last Monday.