Muhammad Inam Butt has won medals in every competition in Pakistan, a World Championships gold medal and is now a two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
Moments after Muhammad Inam Butt won the gold in men’s 86kg category at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, the Pakistan Army Chief called to congratulate him. The phone calls and messages did not stop even after a week of the star wrestler returning to his country.
“People have showered so much love on me after the win, it feels great. It’s all Allah’s blessing that I won a medal for Pakistan at such a big event. There was a big celebration in Lahore when I returned,” Inam says. “Cricketers like Shahid Afridi, Sikander Bakht and Younis Khan congratulated me. Everyone appreciated, including the Prime Minister and Imran Khan. When I reached Gujranwala, they took me around on a horse. Everyone was happy. After all this, I think it is my responsibility to perform better and win more medals for Pakistan.”
Success on the wrestling mat is not new for Inam. He has won medals in every competition in Pakistan, a World Championships gold medal and is now a two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist. But of all his medals , Inam cherishes the latest the most. Not because he beat India’s Somveer in the final but because he brought the only gold medal for Pakistan from Down Under.
Ever since he began wrestling at the age of 12, Inam had dreamt of winning as many medals for Pakistan as possible, aided by the sacrifices made by his family to make him a top-class grappler. “We are four brothers. We begin practice after the morning Namaz. My parents take care of our food and schedule and give us milk, food, and everything else we need. Gujranwala is a wrestling hub. and my family is a wrestling family. My grandfather, father, uncles, brothers – everyone had wrestled,” he says proudly.
Those sacrifices began bearing fruit quite early on. In his first competition, Inam won the gold medal at the Cadet Nationals. Since then, he has dominated wrestling competitions in Pakistan. He even became World Champion in beach wrestling.
Budget tension
But despite all the success, Inam is disappointed by the lack of support for wrestling in the country. “Unfortunately, Pakistan does not have a budget for wrestling. If you want to compare, the total is 18 lakh Pakistan rupees (approx Rs 10 lakh). In that budget, we have to conduct the national championships. We send a team to only one or two international tournaments. All other expenses have to be met within those 18 lakh rupees, including talent hunt programmes. I hope we learn from India and invest in wrestling. My gold medal should also make a difference,” he says.
Citing the example from across the border, Inam says it will be great if Pakistan invests more in the sport. Moreover, he wants both countries to help each other in promoting wrestling and holding competitions.
“Wrestling is above international boundaries. Since 2010, I am in the Pakistan team. Sushil Kumar is a friend and wrestlers from both sides are like a family. Whenever we wrestle at multi-sport events and against some other country, we support each other. One such example is the Commonwealth Championships in 2016. I was warming up with Deepak and told him ‘you can win the gold medal here’. The atmosphere is so great. Even Somveer is a very good friend. We were talking before our final bout. I believe winning and losing is a different matter. A wrestler from India will try to win a medal for India and I will try to win for Pakistan. You need to be a good human first,” he says.
Longing for India
Due to the tension between the two neighbouring countries, Inam has not visited India of late. But he recalls all his previous trips with great fondness.
“I have been to India five-six times. The 2010 CWG was my first experience. In 2016, we had the South Asian Games. I have always loved going there as people are very welcoming. With the love and respect I get, I cannot differentiate whether I am in India or Pakistan. There should be relaxation in visas for sportspersons, especially for the Pro Wrestling League that India conducts. I want to come to India because whenever we go or any Indian comes here, everyone loves it. We should have combined training programmes to prepare for the Olympics. Then, Sushil Kumar and Inam will be training together. I think if we do this, the medals which are won by Russia, Iran and USA will come to Pakistan and India.”