KARACHI: It was the worst day for Pakistan on Friday as the country’s athletes failed in various disciplines in the 21st Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
National weightlifter Abu Sufyan failed to impress when he faltered in jerk and so was not ranked in the hotly-contested 69 kilogramme competitions.
After lifting 130 kg in snatch, the 25-year-old Sialkot-born athlete, competing in his second successive Commonwealth Games, made a foul in his first attempt to lift 158 kg when his elbows touched his knees. He then missed lifting 160kg twice to finish the event disappointingly. “I don’t know if he had any fitness issues. Had he lifted 163 or above he could have finished at the victory podium,” an official of Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF) said.
There were reports that Sufyan also got injured. On Sunday (tomorrow) highly experienced weightlifter Usman Amjad Rathore will compete in 94kg. He is expected to pull off a medal.Pakistan’s top weightlifter Nooh Dastagir Butt will feature in the plus 105kg competitions on April 9.
The 69kg contest was a gripping one as the leading three weightlifters finished very close to one another. Wales’ Gareth Evans secured gold with a total of 299kg (136, 163); Sri Lanka’s Indika Dissanayake got silver with a total of 297 (137, 160); and India’s Deepak Lathar ended with a bronze with a total of 295 (136, 159).
Pakistan’s swimming standard was also exposed once again when the country’s top young swimmer Bisma Khan finished seventh in her eight-contestant heat of 50m women freestyle competitions and 32nd overall out of 40 competitors by clocking 28.75 seconds. A total of 16 swimmers progressed to the next stage and the timing of the last one qualified was 26.70.
After being thrashed by both Scotland and India in their first two Group A fixtures on Thursday in the badminton mixed team event, Pakistan lost 1-4 to Sri Lanka.In the mixed doubles, the pair of Irfan Saeed and Palwasha Bashir lost to Buwaneka Goonethilleka and Kavidi Sirimannage 16-21, 4-21.
In men’s singles, Dinuka Karunaratna defeated Murad Ali 21-18, 21-17 to stretch Sri Lanka’s lead to 2-0.In women’s singles Mahoor Shehzad defeated Madushika Dilrukshi 21-14, 21-18 to reduce the deficit.
In men’s doubles, Buwaneka and Sachin Dias overpowered Murad and Irfan 21-11, 21-14 to take a decisive 3-1 lead. In women’s doubles Thilini Pramodika and Kavidi Sirimannage got the better of Mahoor and Palwasha 21-7, 21-11.
On Saturday (today), Pakistani boxer Gul Zeb will face Aidan Walsh of Northern Ireland in the 69kg pre-quarter-finals.Gul, who plays for Army, defeated William Le Poullain of Guernsey 3-2 in the round of 32 on Thursday.As many as four boxers are representing Pakistan in the competitions.