Talha Talib once again made headlines when he became the first Pakistani ever to win a medal at the World Weightlifting Championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, last month. He won a bronze medal in the snatch event in the 67kg category.
While he was given a hero’s welcome by the public, the authorities promised to extend all the required financial and material support to the weightlifter to enable him to improve on his performances in the future.
However, as usual, the authorities failed to facilitate him as Talha was seen training inside a classroom of a school that he once attended. He was forced to train in the classroom at night due to rainfall.
Due to rain i'm training in a classroom where i studied. Because i don't have a indoor training hall but i have to train for my next competition. #talhatalib pic.twitter.com/aYCuIYTUGf
— Talha Talib (@_talha_talib) January 23, 2022
Taking to Twitter, Talha revealed that although Punjab Sports Board (PSB) had given him an option of indoor training at a gymnasium in his hometown Gujranwala, he decided against availing of the facility due to a clash of timings and poor air quality in the surroundings.
He explained that as a professional weightlifter, he is required to follow a proper training schedule. He performs his morning training session from 3-5 AM and works out from 6-9 PM in the evening. But, the gymnasium opens up at 7 AM, which forced him to look for other alternatives.
Gymnsaium ki timing mujy suit ni ki q k mn 1 professional athlete houn or week mei mujy 7 din training krni houti hy.. mera first session subha 3am sy 5am tak houta hy or sham ka session 6pm sy 9pm tak houta hy or gymnsaium subha 7 bjy open houta hy. Is waja sy mn ny inkaar kiya https://t.co/i36oq9ssWy
— Talha Talib (@_talha_talib) January 24, 2022
He added that there are a lot of factories located near the gymnasium. The smoke emanating from them coupled with vehicular emissions makes it unbearable to train in such an environment.
Or jis gymnasium mei mujy training k liye hall diya gya tha us ko mn ny khud lyny sy inkaar kiya q k us gymnasium k backside py factories hyn jis ka dhuwan na qabale bardasht hy or jis road py gymnasium hy us py dust or gariyoun ka dhuwan musalsal rhta hy. https://t.co/q5KcHbx8qI
— Talha Talib (@_talha_talib) January 24, 2022
Talha also clarified that the purpose of sharing the video wasn’t to point out any department, adding that the PSB had given him Rs. 2 million in cash prize and international equipment after he made the nation proud due to his performances at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
He is now set to feature in the Singapore International Weightlifting Championship scheduled to be held next month. This event also serves as a qualifier for the Commonwealth Games that will be held in July-August this year in the UK.