Promising Abdullah to make international debut at Fajr Cup

KARACHI: Emerging future prospect Mohammad Abdullah Butt will make his international debut when he flexes his muscles in the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Grand Prix 1st International Fajr Cup, a qualifying round for Rio Olympics, which starts in Tehran later this month.

It would be a test event for the 20-year-old Higher Education Commission (HEC) player, who is set to compete in the super heavyweight slots of the vital assignment from May 30 to June 3.

Abdullah, who is pursuing a degree in pharmacy in the Veterinary University Lahore, is one of the two future prospects in super heavyweight category. The other is 17-year-old Nooh Dastagir Butt who also has to his credit gold medals in the Commonwealth Junior Championship and 2016 South Asian Games.

Abdullah will be accompanied by Sheraz Mohammad as coach cum manager. A senior Pakistan Weightlifting Federation’s (PWF) official and international referee Hafiz Imran Butt will also be part of the touring party. He will supervise the competitions.

They will fly out of Lahore for Iran’s capital on May 28 and will return on June 4.

A PWF top official said that it was necessary to test Abdullah, who is talented enough to compete with Nooh Dastagir, who also plays in the same weight. “The event will help him learn. Abdullah is a fighting boy and I hope he will deliver his best,” PWF secretary Amjad Amin Butt told ‘The News’ on Friday.

“Both Abdullah and Nooh are our future assets and effort would be made to work seriously on them to prepare them for major international competitions in future,” said Butt, also a former weightlifter.