Two more Pak weightlifters may appear in CWG

KARACHI: With four national weightlifters already in the Commonwealth Games, there is a chance for two more to earn coveted berths as the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) have given two online slots to Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWLF).

The Commonwealth Games are slated to be held from July 28 to August 8 in Birmingham.

Pakistan will now hold competitions on February 27 for these two seats which will be virtually observed by the IWF and the CGF.

The PWLF vice-president Amjad Amin Butt told ‘The News’ on Thursday that Haider Ali (81kg) and Sharjeel Butt (55kg) will try to grab the coveted seats during this event. “Arrangements have been made for these competitions,” Butt said.

“We have been given the opportunity because of Covid issues. We could not send Sharjeel Butt to Mauritius for the Commonwealth Games qualifiers because of visa issues and these online slots are a big opportunity for our weightlifters to qualify for the Commonwealth Games,” Butt said.

The CGF and the IWF have instructed the PWLF on how to hold this online event and where to fix cameras.

Sharjeel Butt was to proceed to Mauritius on February 23 for the qualifiers but could not due to visa issues.

If both Sharjeel and Haider are able to make it to the Commonwealth Games then Pakistan will feature in six weight categories.

The country’s premier weightlifter Talha Talib, Abu Bakar, Hanzala Dastgir Butt and Nooh Dastgir Butt have already qualified for the Commonwealth Games.

Butt said that they will meet the CGF and the IWF virtually on Friday (today) also. The PWLF have already held training camp at Lahore with the support of Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). However, the country’s premier weightlifter Talha Talib is training at a facility near his home in Gujranwala. He is training under the supervision of his father.

Butt said that Talha’s training is going very well. “Yes, he is training very well and after a few days he will come to Lahore and we will check how much he has improved. We are happy with his progress,” Butt said.

Talha is a big player, having earned the fifth spot in the last year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo in the 67 kilogramme category. He featured on an IOC place but his performance at the biggest stage surprised everyone. Talha further raised his graph when he snared the first-ever bronze for Pakistan in snatch event in the World Championship in Tashkent last year. In this event he did not complete his clean and jerk due to fitness issues. He was then scheduled to feature in an event in Singapore in which Pakistan could not feature due to lengthy quarantine requirement. However, his qualification for the Commonwealth Games was confirmed because of his standings in the Tokyo Olympics, according to a PWFL official.

And the PWLF is also happy with the fitness of another promising weightlifter Nooh Dastgir Butt who plays in heavyweight. “Yes, Nooh is also in good shape,” Butt said.

Both Nooh and Talha got bronze medals in the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. This time both have a chance to clinch gold in the Birmingham event.

The PSB is helping federations in hiring foreign coaches but Amjad Butt said they have not discussed this issue with the Board. “No, nothing about foreign coach has been discussed with the PSB,” Butt said. Weightlifting is the most important discipline in which Pakistan can earn a few big medals in the Commonwealth Games.