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| August 17, 2005 | Wednesday | Rajab 11, 1426 |
Weightlifter ignorant of receiving award
LAHORE, Aug 16: International weightlifter Shujauddin Malik on Tuesday expressed his ignorance of the fact that he had been awarded “Tamgha-e-Imtiaz” by the president of Pakistan on the eve of Independence Day.
“I don’t know about it. I am hearing it for the first time,” a bewildered Shuja told Dawn.
“It is sad that the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF) did not bother to inform me. I knew that I had been recommended for the award but I did not know that I had actually received it,” Shuja said who created a new South Asian record in SAF Games 2004 at Islamabad by lifting 200kg weight.
Among others who received the presidential “Tamgha-e-Imtiaz” award are: International karateka Farman Ahmad, squash coach Rehmat Khan, swimmer Kamal Salman Masood. Pakistan cricket skipper Inzamamul Haq was awarded “Sitara-i-Imtiaz”.
Shuja said the federation had been ignoring him. “The federation was not ready to recommend me for the award. The credit goes to director general Pakistan Sports Board who supported me because of my achievements in the last SAF Games,” he said.
He said that he had requested the PWF to send him to Athens Olympics as he was hopeful to clinch gold on the basis of his performance in the SAF Games, but they (PWF) declined.
“The man from Georgia, who claimed the gold in Athens lifted a total of 205kg and I could have eliminated the difference after undergoing some intensive training,” he claimed.
Shuja who hit headlines in 1998 for representing Qatar in the Asian Games in Thailand, said that he was not at fault at that time. “I and my cousin Zaheeruddin Malik had an ailing father to think about, (therefore we) refused to go to Thailand. Later, the federation put two-year ban on us after which we considered the Qatar offer,” he said.
Farman, one of the presidential award recipients, said that he was ecstatic when he learnt that he had been awarded the “Tamagh-i-Imtiaz”.
“It is a great honour for me that I became the first karateka of the country to achieve the milestone. I believe the hard work and devotion to a noble cause always pays dividends,” Farman said, who had quit after remaining champion of 80kg class for 14 consecutive years.
Farman said that he had grabbed his first gold medal in the SAF Games 1999 in Nepal and two gold medals in the last edition in Islamabad in 2004.
His most memorable performance was his qualifying for the semifinals of 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea in individual kata and kumite.
Swimmer Kamal is settled in USA for his studies.
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