CWG 2022: Judoka Shah Hussain Shah apologises for not winning gold medal

Pakistan’s Judoka Shah Hussain Shah has apologised for not winning a gold medal for his country during the ongoing Commonwealth Games.

He won bronze medal in the -90kg category by defeating South Africa’s Thomas-Laszlo Breytenbach.

Speaking exclusively to SAMAA TV in Birmingham, Shah said that injury affected his preparations for the event.

“I wanted to win the gold medal which is why I want to apologise to the entire nation for not achieving that,” said Shah.

“I’m happy to win the bronze medal and will come back stronger and fitter next time. You have to put in the hard yards if you want to succeed in this field.

“Towards the end of April, I suffered an injury which affected my preparations for the event. But that is still not an excuse for losing the fight.”

He also highlighted the importance of coaches in international events.

“You need the support of coaches because this is just like a war we are fighting for our country,” he said. “We can compete without our coaches at the national level but it is impossible to do that at the international stage like Commonwealth Games of the Olympics.”

It must be noted that the Japan-based athlete, Shah, has twice won a gold medal during the South Asian Games in 2016 and 2019, respectively. He also bagged a silver during the 2014 Commonwealth Games.