Pakistan weightlifter Nooh Dastgir Butt lamented the lack of support from the sports institutions of the country for his absence from the Paris Olympics, scheduled to run from July 26 to August 11.
Butt appeared at ARY News’ show Sports Room and expressed his disappointment over not being able to represent Pakistan in the biggest sporting event.
“The athlete from New Zealand, whom I beat in the Commonwealth Games, is participating in the Olympics but I am not. All because of the [authorities], neither I participated in any qualifying event nor was sent for international training,” said Butt.
“They should have sent me for international training right after the Commonwealth Games and also for qualifying events so that I would participate in the Olympics and win a medal for Pakistan,” he added.
When probed about the difficulties in his professional career, Butt termed the sports institutions as the biggest hurdle before going on to appeal to the government for an ample platform.
“The biggest difficulty for me currently is the sports institutions of Pakistan, who did not send me for Olympics qualifiers. But now, all I can do is appeal to the government to provide me an international platform so that I can prepare for upcoming events like Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Olympics,” Butt said.
In May this year, weightlifter Nooh Dastgir Butt shared that he has been sidelined from this year’s Asian Games and Paris Olympics 2024 for allegedly being part of a parallel weightlifting interim committee.
However, the Commonwealth Games gold medalist has refuted the accusations made against him and categorically denied his affiliation with any interim weightlifting committee.
Taking to his Instagram account, Nooh Dastgir Butt shared an official letter, that he received from the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF), which expressed reservations over his inclusion in the weightlifting event of the ongoing National Games.
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“I, unfortunately, won’t be able to participate in future weightlifting competitions — be it National Games (2023) or international competitions like Asian Games (2023) or Olympic Games (2024) — as I have been alleged to be a member of a parallel weightlifting interim committee by the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF). As a result, I won’t be given an opportunity or platform to participate in future competitions,” Butt wrote on his official Instagram account.
READ: Only seven athletes in Pakistan’s 18-member contingent for Paris Olympics