RAWALPINDI: Mohammad Nawaz Pehalwan won the title of Rustam-i-Rawalpindi af ter defeating Mohsin Pehalwan in a wrestling contest held at Liaquat Bagh on Friday.

The Rawalpindi Pehalwan Association arranged the wrestling contest at the century old Ustaad Allah Dad Khan Pehalwan Akhara. Out of a total of six bouts, the main bout between Nawaz and Mohsin ended in Nawaz`s victory. The Rustam-i-Rawalpindi title holder can now compete in the provincial contests taking place in L ahore next month.

Moreover, the Junior Rustum title was won by Faizi Pehalwan who defeated Zakir Khan. Before the contest started, all the wrestlers arrived in the Akhara wearing colourful dresses and were accompanied by dholwallas. A large number of people showed up to enjoy the event.

After winning the title, Mohammad Nawaz said he would try his luck at the provincial and national level. He said he wanted to train harder to participate in international wrestling events.

`There are fewer opportunities for wrestlers in the city as we only have the Akhara in Rawalpindi. The government should support the wrestlers at the local level,` he said.

Saad Ahmed, the organiser of the event, said all the old pehalwans also attended the contest. The contest was between two groups: the students of Banaras Pehalwan and a group known as Zaheer Pehalwan pupils.

He said that all the arrangements were made with the help of donations from the wrestlers. He added that the wrestlers were training under the supervision of their seniors but faced problems which can be resolved if the government steps in to preserve the tradition of wrestling.

The Akhara Ustad Allah Dad Khan Rustam-i-Rawalpindi was established in 1920 on a small portion of the Liaquat Bagh. Although there aren`t many trainers, the youngsters are still adamant on keeping the sport of kushti (wrestling) alive. A Reporter