Nooh Dastgir & Talha Talib to feature in Asian Weightlifting Championship 2019
Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF) has decided to field its two leading weightlifters in the Asian Weightlifting Championships slated to be held in Ningbo, China, from April 18-28.
The 2019 Asian Weightlifting Championships, which will double as a qualifying event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, will be held from April 18-28 in China's eastern coastal city of Ningbo.
Despite financial issues, the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF) has decided to field its two leading weightlifters in the Asian Weightlifting Championships. It is also a gold-tier Olympic qualifying event, providing athletes with bonus points. 467 participants from 29 countries and regions, including China, Japan, South Korea, India, Iran and the DPRK have registered at the competition.
"Yes, financial issues are there but we are determined to at least field our two top weightlifters 156 kg Nooh Dastgir Butt and 62 kg Talha Talib in the continental event," PWF secretary Amjad Amin Butt said.
Performance of the two weightlifters has been good during the last few years. Both are also bronze medalists of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. The duo has the ability to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But the situation does not seem favouring the players as for the last few months, the PWF has been facing a huge financial crunch.
"No sponsors have come up to support us for the China event. It’s a worrying sign for us. It is very difficult for us to concentrate properly on the players’ development due to financial issues," Butt said.
The PWF will also send an official with the weightlifters. "We have already applied for visas and hopefully will be able to send the players to China as the event is very important," Nooh further added.
On one hand, Pakistan is struggling to ensure its participation in the continental event and on the other, India is sending eight men and four women weightlifters to the competitions which also serve as qualifiers for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
