Doha, September 07 (QNA) - Qatari weightlifting is seeking to achieve a new Asian milestone during its participation in the 20th Asian Games, Aichi-Nagoya 2026, hosted by Japan from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.

The Qatari delegation is pinning its hopes of winning medals at this edition on veteran Olympic weightlifter Fares Ibrahim, alongside weightlifter Wissal Yakhlef, whose impressive performances point to a promising future.

This participation comes after an unsuccessful showing by Qatar’s weightlifting team at the previous edition, Hangzhou 2022, where the delegation failed to reach the podium. This provides Qatar’s weightlifters with even greater motivation at the Nagoya Games to make amends for those results and return strongly to the continental medal stage.

Qatari weightlifting, represented by Fares Ibrahim and Wissal Yakhlaf, is gearing up for a strong and exceptional showing, with ambitions to achieve new glories and add to the illustrious record of Qatari sports.

Qatari weightlifting boasts a proud history at the Asian Games, with the Qatar Weightlifting Federation among the first national sports federations to earn a place on regional and continental podiums.

Three historic editions stand out in the sport’s journey, during which Qatar’s champions won three medals: one gold and two silver.

Qatar’s first gold medal came at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, marking the country’s emergence as a continental weightlifting powerhouse. Weightlifter Asaad Saeed Saif claimed gold in the 105kg category with an outstanding performance, recording a total lift of 417.5kg: 192.5kg in the snatch and 225kg in the clean and jerk.

The second medal came in front of the Qatari fans in Doha, where weightlifter Jaber Saeed Salem etched his name in the record books by winning the silver medal in the over-105 kg category, following a fierce and thrilling competition with renowned Iranian weightlifter Hossein Rezazadeh. He secured second place with a total lift of 410 kg: 185kg in the snatch and 225kg in the clean and jerk.

Finally, at the Jakarta–Palembang 2018 Asian Games, Olympic champion Fares Ibrahim maintained Qatar’s impressive momentum by winning the silver medal in the 94kg category, which was Qatar’s first silver medal at that edition.

The silver medal came after a fiercely contested battle with Iranian weightlifter Sohrab Moradi, who broke the world record at the time.

Fares recorded a total lift of 381kg: 166kg in the snatch and 215kg in the clean and jerk.

That Asian Games silver proved to be a crucial springboard and a source of motivation for Fares Ibrahim, propelling him to global glory and a historic gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Qatari weightlifting enters the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games buoyed by its proud legacy. With Fares Ibrahim’s high level of readiness and extensive experience in handling pressure, alongside the eagerly anticipated appearance of promising weightlifter Wissal Yakhlaf, Qatar will look to make a strong mark and reaffirm its status as a leading producer of weightlifting champions in Asia. (QNA)