Commonwealth championships: Weightlifters begin campaign on Monday

Pakistan has pitted four athletes in senior, junior and youth events

KARACHI: Pakistan will begin their campaign at the 2015 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships with Muhammad Shahzad competing in the 62kg category at the Shiv Chatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, India on Monday.

Shahzad, the most seasoned weightlifter out of the four-member Pakistan contingent, will hope to outperform nine other athletes in snatch, clean and jerk categories to win the seniors’ medal.

Pakistan is fielding the athletes in the senior, junior and youth events.

“I believe these four athletes can win 12 medals in India,” Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF) vice-president Muhammad Rashid Malik told The Express Tribune. “They are well prepared and we’ve trained them with our internationally-qualified coach Amjid Amin Butt. Shahzad will have a tough time as we know that Indian athletes are slightly better than us in the lighter weight categories; however, we have the edge in the heavyweight events.”

Another strong addition in the team is three-time Asian gold-medallist Nooh Dastagir Butt. The 17-year-old will represent the country in the 105kg competitions in the junior, seniors and youth categories, where his closest competitors will be from Australia, England and Samoa.

Meanwhile, lifter Usman Amjad Rathore will take the floor in the 94kg event in the seniors’ championship and Muhammad Saqib will participate in the 77kg youth competitions.

The weightlifters trained in Lahore for four months for the event. Malik added that Pakistan is one of the favourites to win the championships besides the hosts.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2015.

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