Pakistani weightlifter Nooh Dastgir Butt made a remarkable international debut on Thursday at the Commonwealth Powerlifting Classic and Equipped Championships in South Africa by securing gold in the squat event.

The Pride of Performance Award winner and Commonwealth Games gold medalist lifted 370 kilogrammes in his maiden powerlifting competition at South Africa’s Sun City, etching his name in history as Pakistan’s first powerlifting gold medalist.

“Won gold medal at Commonwealth Classic Powerlifting Championships 2024,” he wrote in a post on his Instagram profile.

“Stop me if you can, this Butt is not going to stop,” he added, thanking his supporters.

Butt is set to compete in the bench press and deadlift categories, where he is favoured to win two additional gold medals and claim the overall championship title in the 120kg+ category.

He aims to bring home a total of four gold medals.

Butt comes from Gujranwala, Pakistan’s biggest nursery of weightlifters and wrestlers and has been lifting weights since the age of 11. By the time Butt turned 18, he had begun making headlines on the international stage.

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, he created new records in the snatch, clean-and-jerk and total categories. “The credit for that goes to my father, who spent all these years training me,” he said.