Weightlifting camp to continue on Eid days

KARACHI: Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWLF) on Tuesday said that it cannot afford to stop the national camp for Eid as it is the most demanding sport.

“In weightlifting we will have to hold training sessions even on Eid days as because of the nature of this sport you cannot opt for an off-day as it will bring down your performance,” a PWLF official told ‘The News’.

Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has stopped supporting the weightlifting camp from April 13 but PWLF is running the camp through its own resources. There are a dozen weightlifters training at the Punjab University Weightlifting Academy to prepare for the Commonwealth Games slated to be held in Birmingham from July 28 to August 8.

The country’s premier weightlifter Talha Talib and Abu Bakar Ghani are under investigation these days for doping reasons while the rest of the lot is training for the quadrennial event.

If Talha and Abu Bakar are banned then Pakistan will be represented by Nooh Dastgir Butt, Haider Ali, Hanzala Dastgir and Sharjeel Butt in the Commonwealth Games. In the camp, No2 and No3 seeds have also been kept in each weight category.

The PWLF plans to hold trials after Ramadan for picking weightlifters for the Islamic Games slated to be held in Konya, Turkey, from August 9-18.

“It is not yet decided in which weights we will compete in the Turkey event but trials will certainly be conducted,” the official said.

PSB has convened a meeting of national sports federations on Wednesday (today) in Islamabad to discuss with them preparations for the Commonwealth Games and Islamic Games.

Besides these two events, Pakistan is also bracing up for featuring in the Asian Games scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China, from September 10-25.