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 lift ...
from
Gujranwala
Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...
.
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 Malay ...
. 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
Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...
,
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, 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 of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
. 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 ...
from
Quaid-e-Azam Divisional Public School and College
Divisional Public Schools and Colleges (DPS or DPSC), established in 1963, is a series of mega-schools at the division level in Punjab, Pakistan. The series consists of one of the largest institutions providing education at school level in Pakis ...
, and then studied computer science from Superior College, Gujranwala.
Career
Talha Talib won the silver medal in the 56 kg category at the
2015 Commonwealth Youth Games
The 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games, officially known as the V Commonwealth Youth Games, and commonly known as Samoa 2015, was the fifth Commonwealth Youth Games which started in the year 2000. It was held from 5 to 11 September, 2015 in Apia, the c ...
in
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 Malay ...
, 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 Malay ...
, 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 that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...
and won a bronze medal in the 62 kg 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 res ...
).
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
A Tripartite Commission is the name given to one of a number of commissions within the Olympic movement, consisting of representatives of (1) the International Olympic Committee ("IOC"), (2) one or more international sports federations ("IFs"), an ...
. 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
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
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 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 categori ...
.
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 ...
, and was provisionally suspended.
Awards and recognition
For securing fifth position in the men's 67 kg event at
2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
, Talha was awarded the following:
* from the
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 resources. ...
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 Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, its international sports unit, it operates two ...