Qatar’s Olympic gold medallist Fares Ibrahim booked his ticket for next year’s Paris Games after achieving a 388kg mark at the World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh, on Thursday. The 25-year-old, who has increased his weight category to 102kg, had a lift of 218kg in clean & jerk, taking silver medal in the category. But disappointingly he finished seventh overall after he could lift only 170kg in snatch.
China’s Liu Huanhua won gold with an overall mark of 404kg, followed by South Korea’s Jang Yeon-hak (399kg) and Belarusian Yauheni Tsikhantsou (394kg). At Tokyo Olympics two years ago, Fares shattered two Games records as he became Qatar’s first Olympic champion in history. He set new marks for the clean and jerk (225kg) and total lift (402kg). The weightlifter will now compete in the Asian Games starting in Hangzhou from September 23.