Lifters to start preparations this month

KARACHI: After snaring a couple of bronze medals in the 21st Commonwealth Games in Australia, national weightlifters will assemble for a proper camp this month to begin preparations for the Asian Games penciled in for August 18 to September 2.

“We have contacted the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and this month we will be able to hold the camp for the Asian Games,” a senior official of Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF) told ‘The News’.

Asia is full of Olympic and world champions in weightlifting and it would be an uphill task for national weightlifters to show their presence at the biggest stage in Indonesia. But the PWF official said that the best efforts from their weightlifters would be considered a huge success for them.

“If a weightlifter improves his standing in Asian Games it would be of high value for them and their future,” the official said.Nooh Dastagir Butt (+105kg) and Talha Talib (62kg) recently won bronze in Commonwealth Games in Australia. It is not yet known how many weightlifters will be sent to Indonesia.“It is yet to be decided. We will see the case from various angles before finalising it,” the official said.The official said that PWF also needs a foreign coach.