Strongman Nooh Dastgir Butt eyes 2028 Games after mishap

Pakistan's top weightlifter deserved a place in Paris-bound squad but PWF row ruined his chances

PARIS:

Pakistan's premier weightlifter Nooh Dastgir Butt feels he deserved a place in the Pakistan squad for Paris Olympics 2024 due to his impressive credentials but he is determined about featuring in the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

“When my path in weightlifting was closed, I had no choice but to go for powerlifting and that's where I also won medals at the national level twice before, and won my third title this year," said Nooh while speaking to The Express Tribune.

The weightlifting events began at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday and from Pakistan’s perspective, one feels a huge loss as Nooh Dastagir Butt is not among the athletes who should have been here.

Nooh's last outing for Pakistan resulted in a stellar performance at the 2022 Commonwealth Games where he set the games record and won three gold medals with a total of 405 kg, a snatch of 173kg and clean and jerk of 232kg.

Nooh informed that he has started competing internationally in powerlifting. "My next plan is going ahead in powerlifting, I must pursue a career in that," Nooh told this correspondent.”

He won the Hercules Columns event in the Pahlavon Mahmud Strongman Games 2024 in Uzbekistan in May.

"My next two events will be in October. First the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships and the South African Championship. I am hoping to be able to win gold medals in both the events," he said, his tone brimming with confidence.

When asked how he got into a powerlifting event in Uzbekistan, Nooh said that it was their sports ministry that had invited him.

"The Uzbek sports ministry invited me to this event on their own. It was like Allah had opened the door for me” he said.

“They asked me to compete at the Strongman event because even though this is not related to powerlifting, it is about strong athletes and I am among one of the prominent names, so they asked me and I prepared for it in just two and a half weeks,” Nooh recalled.

"I was not expecting any medal, but I discussed it with my father and we decided to take it."

Nooh said that it was a very different experience for him to compete in Uzbekistan as there were eight different events with eight different medals to grab.

"I got the medal in an event in which I was to hold a boulder with 200kg each for the longest time," said the 2021 Commonwealth Championships silver medallist.

"I couldn't get the medal overall. But this was also my first time in an event like that. I was, Alhamdulilah, good in technique and I have the strength, so I got this medal. I think I would like to continue this in the future too."

"I think it suits me, next time Inshallah I'll get all the medals here too," Nooh said with a big smile.

Of course, Nooh's category is no longer a part of the Olympic program, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has announced new weight categories decreasing the number of competitions from 14 to 10.

"I have left all of my matters in Allah's hands. Allah will decide. There are so many issues with the weightlifting (federation), that I really don't want to waste my with them time anymore.

"I have stepped into this other path of strongman event. I am fully committed to going on top in this too, all the way to the top."

Nooh said that he is heartbroken about not competing in the Olympics.

"I can tell that getting a medal in the Olympics is not difficult if we can get a medal in the Commonwealth Games or the World Championships,” he observed. "I am sad about the Paris Olympics. We couldn't qualify for the 2016 Olympics, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics preparation was affected because of Covid and because of injury,” Nooh recollected.

"Now in 2024, I couldn't go because of my federation. But with time one has to move on, look for the future and I am doing just that. I am sad but I am not disappointed or despondent.

"I am hopeful that Allah will not only help me but He will grant honour to Pakistan. If nothing, I know we can get the world title, I can say that.

"As for the Olympics too, I want to go for the medal for wherever I get the chance. I am not bitter, I am not complaining. I am grateful."

Nooh added that getting to the Olympics is not just about representing Pakistan. "I don't want to go to the Olympics just to represent Pakistan. I don't want to do that, I want to win the medal. If I can't do that at the Olympics I probably shouldn't go then because my mindset is that one has to make the country proud.

However, he is hoping for the weightlifting federation issues to get sorted and he can dream of winning the medals in weightlifting too.

Elaborating on his experience in Uzbekistan, Nooh said that due to weightlifting outings before he shares a connection with the Uzbek fans.

"I have so many good friends there, the event was great, I saw fellow athletes from Iran, India, Australia, the UK, Kyrgystan, etc with 18 countries participating in it.

"All my fellow athletes were so humble, the fans were great, and the support from fans was amazing,” said Nooh. “I also beat an Indian opponent in an event. It was all good fun. They are planning to develop this event into a mega-event. It has been going on for the last two years. I really liked it and I want to come back next year," said Nooh.

Meanwhile, an International testing Agency (ITA) report that came five days ago charged some of the Pakistani officials and athletes with doping violations. However, Nooh's road had been blocked due to the case of parallel bodies of the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF).

While an official and his son were found involved in doping, Nooh was given a clean chit. In fact, Nooh and his brother under the mentorship of their father had welcomed the ITA officals who paid a surprise visit to make sure weightlifters are competing fairly. Nooh was on track to prepare for the Paris Olympics when the mess at PWF jeopardised his chances, and then the doping row blocked his path and the time to go for qualifying rounds for the Paris Olympics also ran out.

In between the political power plays, he was also deprived of trials for international events that forced him out of the race to qualify for the Paris Games.

But the strong-willed powerlifter has kept his faith all these years and has constantly trained in order to win accolades for Pakistan in the future events.