Talha aims to qualify for Commonwealth Games

KARACHI: Pakistan’s premier weightlifter Talha Talib awoke the country’s sports authorities with a super show in the Tokyo Olympics last year. He finished fifth in his weight category despite having made it to the world’s most prestigious event on an IOC Place. He was accorded a hero’s welcome and was also rewarded well monetarily.

He last month added a feather to his cap when he snared a historic snatch bronze in the World Championship in Tashkent despite injury. He has now set his eyes on the Commonwealth Games qualification. He is set to feature in the Singapore Weightlifting International to be held from February 25-27 in Singapore. The event also serves as qualifiers for the Commonwealth Games slated to be held in Birmingham from July 28 to August 8.

But the Gujranwala hero, as usual, trains in the open area at a school near his home, the place where he honed his skills before the Olympics. He faces huge issues in training. In case of rain he cannot train. And because the area is open, he cannot train when there is intense cold weather. He missed his training on Sunday because of cold weather. This is a big stumbling block in his preparation for the Singapore event which is to be followed by Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Olympic qualifiers.

He had been provided with the training facility at the Shahbaz Sharif Gymnasium, located a few kilometers away from his home. That gym has a nauseating environment. It is situated close to Goat Market (Bakra Mandi). Talha cannot train there due to intense pollution, a result of smoke emission from factories nearby which checks the supply of pure oxygen necessary for proper body functioning for a weightlifter. There is also smell due to the presence of goats. The floor of the gym is made of tiles and these may damage if weights fall on it. Moreover, Talha trains seven days a week but the gym is not available for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games bronze medallist on Sunday.

Talha wants a gym near his home which could meet weightlifting criteria. “If I am provided with a hall with two to three platforms near my home it will end all my training woes,” Talha told ‘The News’ on Monday.

“In weightlifting, you cannot train alone. You need around five persons as you also need weights to be loaded,” Talha said. “If I am provided with a hall with three platforms it will be of immense importance for me and I will be able to train there without any pressure along with my colleagues,” said Talha, who has been provided weights sets by the government but those are not enough. If he is to go above 180kg until 220kg then he will have to use his old and outdated weights sets.

“Yes, it’s a big issue,” said Talha, who is seriously training ahead of the Singapore event. “Due to injury I could not make it to the Commonwealth Games during the World Championships and the Singapore event is an opportunity for me to make it to the Commonwealth Games. Here I will also fight India and it’s not easy and for that I need some top preparation,” Talha said.

Talha said Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Olympic qualifiers are on his radar, adding, he wants something stunning in these events. “After Olympics now much responsibility rests on my shoulders. I want to live up to the billing in the coming events. I am working hard but such training issues sometimes impede smooth sailing,” Talha said.

About foreign training or a quality coach, Talha revealed that he had told a senior official of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) that either they should hire a Chinese coach for them or they should be sent to China.

“Around four or five months ago I had told an official either we should be sent to China or a Chinese coach should be hired. Let’s see how they manage it for us,” Talha said. China is a weightlifting global giant and has a legacy of fine coaches.