With better facilities I could have won: Talha

KARACHI: Pakistan's premier weightlifter Talha Talib on Sunday created ripples at the Tokyo Olympics when he missed the bronze medal by a whisker. His superb total of 320 kilogramme has shown that he could have easily finished at the victory podium had he been provided with the required facilities and standard weight-sets for training.

"Had I been provided with an air-conditioned hall for training and standard weight-sets then the result in Tokyo could have been different," Talha told 'The News' from Tokyo in a detailed interview on Monday.

This correspondent is well aware of the conditions in which Talha underwent training at a school in Gujranwala. He trained in an open area with sub-standard weight-sets before moving to compete with the world's best in Tokyo Olympics who had at their disposal every facility that they needed.

Talha finished second in snatch with his career-best 150kg and recorded 170kg in clean and jerk to finish overall fifth.

Despite all this, Talha is very happy with his performance in Tokyo. "Yes, I am very happy with the way I delivered here. I have done my best. You know in what conditions I trained but I am confident I will win a medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics," he said.

"There was also a chance of taking a medal here in Tokyo. When I missed 166kg in my first attempt in clean and jerk I did not take risk and repeated this weight. Had I successfully lifted 166kg in the first attempt I could have lifted more in the second and even 173kg in the third which would have landed me at the victory podium," Talha said.

"It was a tough event. I did my best to set a tough target for my opponents who mostly were very good in clean and jerk where I was weak," Talha said.

However, he was quick to add that performing well at such a big stage had instilled a lot of confidence in him. "It has really boosted my morale. Next year I have to feature in Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Islamic Games and I want to do my best there," Talha said.

Asked how difficult it was to play at such a major event without a proper coach, Talha said it was tough and it definitely affected his performance. "Definitely I missed my father who has coached me. Here a Palestinian coach helped me but you know four coaches are needed for a weightlifter who competes at such a major stage. One looks after the weightlifter, the other sees the scoreboard, one observes the body of the weightlifter and one delivers weight services. So you need a complete package for such events," he added.

Asked if he could have done even better if he had been sent to Tokyo a few days ahead of his competitions, Talha said: "Yes, it could have worked. You know I came here after a tiresome journey and had only two days before the competitions. These things matter," Talha said.

Talha improved his previous best performances of 148kg in snatch and 167kg in clean and jerk which he had achieved in the Asian Championship in Tashkent recently. In Tashkent he snatched bronze.

Talha's clean and jerk is weak and he aims to focus on this area and emerge as a world-class weightlifter. "Yes, I will definitely focus on this area. I am confident I will do much better in future," he said.

Replying to a question, the 21-year-old said that he had just begun his career. "In weightlifting you can compete till 30 years of age. My father tells me that it's just the beginning of my career. In this age, muscles start developing and you also get experience with the passage of time.

"What I need is support from the government. That is the only way I can rise to the world's top spot," Talha said.

Talha competed in the Tokyo Games on the IOC Tripartite Invitation Place. Talha said that he would not change his body weight and would stick to it in future too as he feels confident in this weight.