Pakistani women lift third gold at Asian Bench Press Championship

MUSCAT: Pakistani women continued to outshine athletes from 12 other countries on Sunday, with powerlifter Shazia Kanwal Butt winning an international gold medal at the 2015 Asian Bench Press Championships being held in Muscat, Oman.

Shazia lifted the gold medal in the 84kg+ category, the third gold medal for Pakistan at the tournament this year.

Earlier, Pakistani athletes Sonia Azmat and Twinkle Sohail won gold medals at the championship in their respective categories.

This is by far the best performance by Pakistani women at any international weightlifting event. This is also the first time that the Pakistan female team has accompanied men at the international championship being held in Muscat from Oct 1 to 6.

Seven powerlifters – three women and four men – are representing Pakistan at the event in Muscat.

The Pakistani women team comprises of Twinkle Sohail (57kg), Sonia Azmat (63kg) and Shazia Kanwal Butt (84kg+), while the national men's side is being represented by Mahmood Heera (120kg), Nadeem Hashmi (105kg), Sohail Butt (84kg) and Rashed Malik (93kg).