SLOUGH Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Club star Adil Iftakhar has been crowned 2014 British Junior Champion.
Iftakhar warmed up for the championships by winning the 86kg seniors weight category at the Derbyshire Open back in October.
He beat three opponents, one by technical superiority and two by pinning them down, and was determined to become British champion.
The wrestling ace took competition from Russia, Ukraine and Iran to the full six minutes and was the winner by clear points.
Iftakhar remained victorious and was awarded the trophy by 48kg 2010 European silver medallist, Yana Rattigan.
Inderpal Singh Cheema is a coach at Slough Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Club. He said: “It’s been a great pleasure to pass on all my knowledge.
“I will continue working hard on Adil so that he can prosper on the international scene.” Iftakhar will now represent Great Britain at the Helsinki Open tournament in Finland on November 28.
Now a three-time British champion, Iftakhar was also part of the England Development squad for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
He said: “I was lucky enough to train with bronze medallists Leon Rattigan (96kg) and Mike Grundy (74kg).
“The opportunity alone taught me so much as I got to train with the best Great Britain freestyle wrestlers.” Iftakhar is a member of the National Talent squad and regularly travels to the wrestling academy in Manchester to develop into world class standard.
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