PWF to field Nooh, Talha in Asian Weightlifting Championships

KARACHI: Despite financial issues, the 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."Yes, financial issues are there but we are determined to at least field our two top weightlifters Nooh Dastgir Butt and Talha Talib in the continental event," PWF secretary Amjad Amin Butt told ‘The News’ on Tuesday.Performance of the two weightlifters has been good during the last few years. Both are also bronze medallists 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," Butt said.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.

from The News International - Sports http://bit.ly/2VHgwXa