Pakistan's Inam Butt clinches gold in Beach Wrestling World Series

Pakistan's Inam Butt clinched the gold medal at the Beach Wrestling World Series in Rome, Italy, comfortably beating his opponent in the final.

Butt won the title after defeating his Ukrainian opponent 3-0 in the final of the 90 kilogrammes category. The Gujranwala-born wrestler had earlier clinched the semi-final in a similarly comfortable manner.

“Alhamdulillah, by the grace of God, I have won the World Beach Wrestling Series in Rome, Italy,” Butt said in a video message on his Twitter handle.

“Most of the credit for this feat goes to Pakistan Wrestling Federation. Luckily, today our new body has been elected and today I have earned the World Champion title for Pakistan. In addition to this, I want to say huge thanks to Pakistan Sports Board, [IPC Minister] Fehmida Mirza, and DG Asif Zaman. They have helped me a lot, we weren’t getting visas. Because of their efforts, I got the visa and got the opportunity to play here,” he added.

In a separate tweet, Butt revealed he lost 16kgs weight ahead of the tournament.

He also acknowledged the support provided by the Punjab Sports Board and Pakistan Olympic Association.

The 32-year-old athlete said if all associations worked in collaboration then the country could make giant strides in world sports. He also dedicated the medal to Pakistan's sports institutions.

Inam Butt and his medals

This is not the first time the wrestler has won a coveted medal for this county; he has a knack for laurels. Butt was the world beach wrestling champion for three consecutive years between 2017 and 2019.

Before that, he won gold medals at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games and 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Butt also earned a silver medal at the 2014 Phuket Asian Beach Games, and first-place finishes at the 2016 Vietnam Asian Beach Games, and in the 2016 and 2019 South Asian Games.