DOHA – Team Qatar has finalized its intensive preparations for the 2026 Asian Weightlifting Championships for men and women, which officially got underway on Saturday in India and will continue until May 17, featuring many of Asia’s elite lifters as part of their preparations for the upcoming Olympic Games.
The Qatari delegation departed today for Gandhinagar ahead of the continental championship, which has attracted 172 male and female lifters representing 28 national federations in one of the strongest and most highly anticipated editions of the tournament.
Qatar will be represented by two athletes: Wesal Khalaf in the women’s +86kg category and Fares Ahmed Jaber in the men’s +94kg division. Khalaf heads into the competition following a remarkable run of achievements, most notably winning nine gold medals across the 10th Qatar International Weightlifting Championships 2025, the Arab Championship, and the West Asian Championship, all staged in Doha last December. She also captured three gold medals at the sixth Islamic Solidarity Games held in Riyadh last November.
Meanwhile, Fares recently delivered an impressive performance at the World Youth Weightlifting Championships in Ismailia, recording 156kg in the snatch and 206kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 362kg in the U20 110kg category and U17 +94kg competitions.
The Qatari duo is scheduled to compete on May 17, the final day of the championship, with Team Qatar aiming to achieve strong results and proudly raise the nation’s flag on the continental stage.
The event features a star-studded lineup of Olympic and world champions, led by Liu Huanhua, the Paris 2024 Olympic champion and 2023 world champion, alongside Park Hye-jeong, the 2025 world champion and Paris Olympic silver medallist.
Also competing are North Korean champions Kang Hyon Gyong and Ri Suk, Bahrain’s Gor Minasyan, who secured an Olympic medal in Paris 2024, in addition to world champions Liao Guifang and Chen Guan-ling.
On the sidelines of the championship, the Asian Weightlifting Federation will hold two key meetings chaired by H.E Mr. Mohammed Bin Yousef Al Mana, First Vice President of the Qatar Olympic Committee and President of the Qatari, Arab, Asian and Afro-Asian Weightlifting Federations, as well as Vice President of the International Weightlifting Federation.
The Executive Board meeting will discuss bids to host the federation’s electoral General Assembly scheduled for December, with Qatar, the Maldives, Iran and Singapore competing for hosting rights.
The Asian federation’s General Assembly will also convene to discuss the roadmap for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, with particular focus on technical regulations and strengthening anti-doping measures.
