World Junior Weightlifting C’ships: Medal hopeful Nooh to compete tomorrow

KARACHI: Pakistan’s highly talented young weightlifter Nooh Dastagir Butt is expected to pull off a medal when he competes in the World Junior Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent on Sunday (tomorrow).

He will feature in the +105kg competitions. This is the first time that Pakistan is participating in the event.Nooh, along with his coach Irfan Butt and manager Amjad Amin Butt, on Friday flew out of Lahore for Tashkent to feature in the event which has already started.

The Gujranwala-born weightlifter had finished with a bronze medal in the 21st Commonwealth Games in Australia last April.Nooh was also the gold medallist of the Commonwealth Junior Weightlifting Championships held in Gold Coast, Australia, just before the Commonwealth Games.

Also in 2017, he got silver in the Commonwealth Championships and then ended at sixth spot in the Islamic Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, also held last year.He got fourth position in 2016 Asian Junior Championships, claimed silver in the Junior Commonwealth Championships the same year before ending with a bronze in the 2016 Commonwealth Championships.

In the 2016 Asian Championships, he finished at the 11th place. He is also the gold medallist of the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Championships, finished with a bronze in the 2015 Commonwealth Championships and got gold in the 2015 Commonwealth Junior Championships. He also claimed bronze in the 2015 29th Men’s Asian Junior Championships and gold in the 17th Asian Youth Championships the same year.Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF) has said in a statement that Nooh would put in his best in the global event which will conclude on Sunday.