Pak weightlifters win 8 golds at Asian Masters Championship

The PMWA were fielding 11 athletes who won 11 medals in total

KARACHI:

Pakistani weightlifters grabbed eight gold medals, at the inaugural Asian Masters Weightlifting Championships that concluded in Doha on May 31.

The weightlifters bagged 11 medals in total.

This was a 100 percent result for Pakistan. The Pakistan Masters Weightlifting Association (PMWA) fielded a squad of 11 athletes, including three women.

The championship was featuring 145 athletes from 25 countries, with the biggest contingent coming from Iran.

"It has been the best performance we could look for because we really couldn't predict the results as this was just the first edition of the Asian Masters Championships," the PMWA secretary Rashed Malik told this correspondent.

"We formed this association because we understand that our athletes and the country need international events, so we can participate in them and also host them and that adds to the economy of the country as well.

"But mostly, we are independent of the Pakistan Olympic Association, the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation, etc.

"Our body is affiliated with the International Masters Weightlifting Association, which used to be a part of the International Weightlifting Federation but after the mutual understanding and the consent of the main world body, the new organisation was formed to help the weightlifters who were retired, or veterans, or who are 30-years and above to compete.

"Because there have been many cases where weightlifters ended up dying young as they were not getting the activity they needed once they left the professional sphere."

Currently, the PMWA is in the process of getting affiliation with the Pakistan Sports Board and the ministry.

Meanwhile, the resounding success of the athletes will only help further the cause.

Among women, Sybil Sohail won the gold medal in 59 Kg.

Nadia Maqsood (87 Kg category) was also declared the best women's weightlifter of the 1st Asian Masters Weightlifting Championships with another gold medal for Pakistan.

Among men, Rasheed Khan won the gold medal in 89 Kg.

Kashif Rehan was declared the winner in M-45 102 Kg. Maqsood Amjad Rathore was the gold medallist in 96 kg, and Furqan Anwar was the winner of the 89 Kg M-30 category.

Muhammad Iqbal won the gold medal in the 102 Kg M-35 event, and Umer Rasool Lone got the title of the 96 Kg M-35 category.

The remaining two athletes received bronze medals, Abdul Malik in the 109 Kg M-50 event and Usman Amjad Rathore in the 109 Kg M-35 category.

Malik also emphasised that PMWA athletes, like those from Balochistan, get the chance to compete again as they are often left behind due to systemic issues in Pakistani sport.