Fares vows strong return after shock exit in Paris
Paris: Qatar weightlifter Fares Ibrahim has apologised after his bid to claim second successive Olympic gold ended in dismay in the recently-created 102kg class, in Paris yesterday.
The 26-year-old, who was one of Qatar’s main medal hopes at the ongoing Games, failed thrice to lift 178kg in snatch that eliminated him from the following clean and jerk category.
Three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, Fares became Qatar’s first-ever gold medalist when he topped the 96kg category, which was not the part of Paris Games.
Yesterday, he blamed a sudden injury for his failure to excel in the tough challenge.
"I apologise for the unexpected performance due to an elbow injury. This is the first time I felt this injury," Fares told beIN Sports.
"But this is not the end. I will return to achieve something in Los Angeles (2028)."
Fares’ build up for Paris was challenging as he battled a hip injury before competing in the Games. He also missed the International Weightlifting Federation’s World Cup in April due to injury.
Favourite Liu Huanhua of China lived up to expectations winning the 102kg gold yesterday. Liu totalled 406kg, 7kg short of his own world record, for his two lifts in the weight class.
He edged Akbar Djuraev of Uzbekistan by 2kg. Yauheni Tsikhantsou, a Belarusian competing as a neutral athlete, took bronze a further 2kg back.
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