Shahzada Safi Drawn Against India’s Aryan in Asian Games Wushu Opener

Afghanistan’s Shahzada Safi will begin his Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games campaign against India’s Aryan in the men’s 56kg wushu sanda competition on Monday.

The bout is listed in the opening round of the 56kg competition at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall, putting Safi into action during the first full phase of Afghanistan’s wushu campaign in Japan.

Safi arrives at the Asian Games with recent international competition behind him.

In June, he competed at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation wushu competition in China, where he defeated opponents from Kazakhstan and Hong Kong on his way to the final of the 56kg division.

That run followed a bronze medal being secured earlier in the competition and gave Safi several bouts against international opposition before his Asian Games appearance.

Afghanistan has brought a seven-member wushu team to the Games. Mohammad Khalid Hotak has already opened his 70kg campaign with a victory over Yemen’s Mohammed Amer and is one win away from guaranteeing another Asian Games medal.

Safi now gets his own campaign underway against Indian opposition.

India’s published Asian Games schedule lists Aryan against Safi in the men’s 56kg sanda draw at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall on September 21.

For Safi, the opening bout is the first test of whether his form from China can carry into Afghanistan’s Asian Games campaign.