Pakistan's Shahzad Qureshi beats Indian bodybuilder to bag gold at Asian event

MALÉ – Pakistani bodybuilder Shahzad Qureshi etched his name in history books after defeating the Indian opponent at the 54th Asian Bodybuilding Championship.

Shahzad reportedly outclassed Uzbekistan’s Umar Omar Zakopol and India’s Naresh Nagdev in the competition to clinch a gold medal in the masterclass 80kg plus category.

Two other Pakistani bodybuilders, Umar Shahzad and Arsalan Baig, also claimed silver and bronze medals for Pakistan in the Championship.

#Pakistan's Shahzad Qureshi beat Indian counterpart Naresh to win Gold medal in the 54th Asian Bodybuilding Championship, Maldives. Pakistan secured 3 medals so far.
Shahzad Qureshi, Gold
Umar Shahzad, Silver
Arsalan Baig, Bronze pic.twitter.com/TFikJ13W5B

— Wali Khan (@WaliKhan_TK) July 18, 2022

Umar Shahzad remained runner-up and was awarded a silver medal in the junior bodybuilding 70kg plus category while India’s Suresh Bala Kumar won Gold and Chan Khang Ghaba bagged Bronze in the category.

Pakistan’s Arsalan Baig bagged the bronze medal in the model physique category and Mudassar Khan grabbed the fifth spot in the model physique category of the event.

Some other bodybuilders also appeared in the Asian event. Fazal Ilahi got the sixth position in the master-class 80kg plus category, whereas Mohammad Azeem was placed sixth in the master-class 70kg plus category.

Meanwhile, Secretary Pakistan Bodybuilding Federation and other officials have felicitated the national bodybuilders for their exceptional performance at Asian Bodybuilding Championship.

A 10-member squad from the South Asian nation is taking part in the Championship which is being held in the island country between 15 to 21 July.