BIRMINGHAM: Nooh Dastagir Butt broke the Commonwealth Games record after Shah Hussain Shah ended Pakistan’s medal drought.
The duo’s accomplishments on the sixth day of action in Birmingham ensured Pakistan received first ever gold and silver medals.
The gold medal was won by Nooh with a stunning lift, the 23-year-old improved on his bronze from the previous Games in Australia’s Gold Coast four years prior.
Nooh had made it clear from the beginning of the men’s +109kg weightlifting final that he intended to win gold by dominating the scratch, lifting 170 kg on his first attempt and raising it to 173 kg on his second.
It didn’t matter that my attempt at 175 kg failed. Halfway through final, Nooh was in the lead, followed by Gordon Shaw at 167 kilogrammes from New Zealand, David Andrew Liti (170 kilogrammes), and Gurdeep Singh of India.
The competition was then destroyed by Nooh in the cleaned and jerk session, when he twice shattered Liti’s records of 218 and 224 kg and Gurdeep’s 223 kg by lifting 225 kg in his initial attempt and then a whopping 232 kg to end with a total of 405 kg. In order to win the gold four years ago, Liti set a record of 403kg, which he beat.
