Six Pakistan weightlifters including Talha Talib face lengthy ban

Six Pakistan weightlifters including Talha Talib, country’s first-ever medallist, are facing a lengthy ban from weightlifting after being charged with doping offences by the International Testing Agency (ITA).

All of them have been provisionally suspended and three of them are now barred from competing at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Game.

Among them is Talha Talib, who finished fifth at the Tokyo Olympic Games last year.

He was Pakistan's first-ever medallist at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships last December, and was favourite to win 67kg gold in Birmingham.

The 22-year-old tested positive for norandrosterone, a banned steroid, twice within 12 days last year.

Abubakar Ghani also tested positive in Tashkent for the prohibited hormone and metabolic modulator tamoxifen metabolite.

Sharjeel Butt, ranked second at 55kg, was a strong Commonwealth Games medal hope for Pakistan.

He has been provisionally suspended after being charged under Article 2.3 of the IWF Anti-Doping Rules, which covers "evading, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection".

Moreover, Ghulam Mustafa, Abdul Rehman, and Farhan Amjad also violated the doping rules and are accused of not giving dope tests, not giving concealment, and sample collection.