Pak weightlifters leave for Hangzhou

LAHORE: A four-member Pakistan’s weightlifting squad, including three weightlifters and an official, left for Hangzhou on Tuesday to flex their muscles in the 19th Asian Games.

The weightlifters are Usman Amjad Rathore, Abdullah Butt and Furqan Anwar. Qaisar Iftikhar is accompanying them as team official. Abdullah Butt has trained here at his club while the other two trained at Gujranwala.

Pakistan squad will be missing the country’s two top weightlifters, Olympian Talha Talib and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Nooh Dastgir Butt. Talha is serving suspension after having failed dope test while Nooh did not attend trials due to his alleged differences with the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF) which did not send his entry.