weightlifter
Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lif ...
from Gujranwala.
He is the Pakistani national champion in the 62 kg category. He set a new record at the games in snatch as he lifted 132 kg in the third attempt with 127 kg and 130 kg in the first two attempts, respectively. He was also a gold medalist at the 2016 Commonwealth Youth Weightlifting Championships in
Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Ma ...
. He lifted 258 kg to clinch the gold. He is currently the top No. 1 ranked weightlifter of Pakistan.
Early life and education
Talib began training from the age of eight in his hometown of Gujranwala,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. His father,
Muhammad Islam Natiq
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monothe ...
, was a former National Junior Weightlifting Champion and had won a bronze medal at the 1999 Asian Powerlifting Championships in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...
. He worked as a national weightlifting coach for Pakistan, and was the one who introduced Talib to the sport.
Talib passed his
matriculation
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
. He lifted 102 kg in snatch and 115 kg in clean and jerk for an aggregate of 217 kg. In October 2016, he participated in the IWF Youth World Championships in
Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Ma ...
, where he could only achieve 9th position in the 62 kg category. The next week, at the 2016 Commonwealth Youth Championships in
Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Ma ...
, he claimed silver in the 62 kg category, and was named Best Weightlifter.
He competed at the
2018 Commonwealth Games
The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, ...
and won a bronze medal in the
62 kg
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second ...
category, lifting a total of 283 kg at the age of 18.
At the
2019 South Asian Games
The 2019 South Asian Games, officially the XIII South Asian Games, was a major multi-sport event which was originally slated to be held from 9 to 18 March 2019 in Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal. However, the dates were postponed and the event was ...
, Talib won gold in 67 kg category with a total weight of 292 kg (140 kg in snatch and 152 kg in
clean and jerk
The clean and jerk is a composite of two weightlifting movements, most often performed with a barbell: the clean and the jerk. During the ''clean'', the lifter moves the barbell from the floor to a racked position across the deltoids, without re ...
).
In February 2020, while competing in the 67 kg category at the 6th International Solidarity Weightlifting Championship in
Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...
, Talib secured a gold medal in snatch by lifting 142 kg. He also won gold in clean and jerk with a weight of 162 kg. This aggregate weight of 304 kg helped him claim another gold. In April 2020, at the 49th Asian Weightlifting Championships, he won a bronze medal by lifting 148 kg in snatch in 67 kg event.
He was brought into the national limelight at the following
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, where he finished fifth in the men's 67 kg event. Initially, Talib could not qualify directly for the event since he had missed a few events. However, he secured an invitational spot offered by the Tripartite Commission. At the event, Talib's lift of 151 kg in the snatch category was the second-best of the round. His overall tally of 320 kg was just 2 kg shy of the bronze medal. This was Pakistan's first top 5 position at the Olympics since 1988 in sports other than field hockey.
In the
2021 World Weightlifting Championships
The 2021 World Weightlifting Championships was a weightlifting competition held from 7 to 17 December in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Due to concerns about the rapid spread of Omicron variant and held shortly after Olympics and Chinese National Games, t ...
in
Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...
, Talib won the bronze medal in the
67 kg 67 may refer to:
* 67 (number)
* one of the years 67 BC, AD 67, 1967, 2067
* ''67'', a 1992 song by Love Battery from the album '' Between the Eyes''
* 67 (rap group), a drill music group from London
See also
* 67th Regiment (disambiguation)
...
category by lifting 143 kg in the snatch event. This was Pakistan's first-ever medal at the
World Weightlifting Championships
The World Weightlifting Championships is an event organised by International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). The first competition, held in March 1891, was won by Edward Lawrence Levy of England.
Athletes compete in a total of 20 weight categorie ...
.
However, Talib soon after tested positive for norandrosterone, a banned
performance-enhancing drug
Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...
WAPDA
The Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA; ur, ) is a government-owned public utility maintaining power and water in Pakistan, although it does not manage thermal power. WAPDA includes Tarbela and Mangla dams among its resource ...
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Punjab Sports Board.
* from the Government of Punjab.
Eurosport
Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...