Pakistan's first-ever international medalist Din Mohammad passes away

Pakistan’s legendry wrestler Din Mohammad was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard at Attoke Awan, a town near Wagah border, Lahore, on Thursday night.

His funeral was attended by people from the wrestling circle and other walks of life.

Din Mohammad represented Pakistan in the flyweight category in international circuit. He was the first ever athlete in any discipline who won an international medal for the nation. He lifted gold in the 1954 Manila Asian Games and took bronze the same year in Vancour Commonwealth Games.

Pakistan wrestling coach Ghulam Farid, who is also the United World Wrestling (UWW) instructor, shared Din Mohammad’s thoughts about his 1954 Asian Games feat.

He said that Din Mohammad would tell that no one expected that he would pull off gold in Manila Asian Games and when he did that there was no Pakistani flag.

A senior official of Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF) also paid tribute to Din Mohammad for his meritorious services for the country’s wrestling.

“He was among the pioneers of wrestling. His age was around 100 years and four months. I had met him a couple of times. He was very old and therefore we did not talk on wrestling,” the PWF vice-president Arshad Sattar told Nukta.

Din Mohammad represented Pakistan alongside renowned wrestlers Abdul Rashid, Mohammad Amin and Mohammad Ashraf during the 1954 Manila Asian Games. It was Din Mohammad who led Pakistan’s wrestling pack with a gold in Manila.

Manila Asian Games were Pakistan’s debut event in the quadrennial continental spectacle.

Born in Jalandhar on October 9, 1936, Din Mohammad toppled Japan’s Yushu Kitano in the final of the 52 kilogram weight category competitions in the Manila Asian Games to secure historic gold. Philippines’ Basilio Fabila claimed bronze.