When? July 10-15 | Event? Weightlifting championship | Venue? Al Etehad Club Court

As Bahrain hosts the GCC Weightlifting Championship for the first time, there is a renewed interest in the sport.

Weightlifting and bodybuilding as sports will get a new fillip as Bahrain hosts the 10th GCC Weightlifting Championship this month. This is the first time that the championship will be hosted by the Kingdom. The Bahrain Weightlifting and Bodybuilding Federation (BWBF) is the organiser behind this event and its newly appointed board members see it as an opportunity to spread awareness about weightlifting among the youth.

The championship will see all six of the GCC countries participating — men from Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are eligible for participation. Each country’s team will consist of nine players, with each player in a specific weight division. Held under the patronage of Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the BWBF has high hopes that the event will be one of the best in its history.

“Bahrain is known for organising international-standard sports events and this championship is no different. We have already got all the equipment we will need from abroad. Our national team is working very hard and our federation has always proven its worth in competitions;

we expect nothing less than nine medals,” says Saleh Al Ammar, general secretary of BWBF.

One of Bahrain’s very own lifters, Abdulreda Abdalla, has broken Gulf Weightlifting Games’ records and the BWBF is confident that even more records will be made during the event.

“Our goal is to popularise the sport of weightlifting in Bahrain. When it comes to bodybuilding, the national team is the best in the Gulf region and one of the best in Asia. Our players have also won gold medals at international level,” adds Saleh.

Bahrain was one of the first countries in the Middle East to take the sport of weightlifting seriously and the BWBF were one of the first federations to promote it. “However, as we focussed on bodybuilding events and won medals in that field, weightlifting was neglected.

We now aim to push weightlifting and bring this beautiful sport back in the limelight,” he notes.

Towards that goal, the association is planning local weightlifting tournaments in which young Bahrainis can participate. The federation also plans to have a junior’s squad by the end of the year to participate in international tournaments. The BWBF will also be participating in a local programme, Discovering Talents, which will be held this summer to spot and promote talent.

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