KARACHI: Having been away from competitive weightlifting for three draining years, Pakistan’s Commonwealth Games champion Nooh Dastagir Butt is ready to return to the international stage — stronger, wiser and more determined than ever.
His long-awaited comeback will take place at the VIRUS Weightlifting Finals and UMWF World Championship, scheduled for December 3–6 in Daytona Beach, Florida, US. For Nooh, it’s more than a competition — it’s a statement.
Nooh’s absence from weightlifting wasn’t due to injury or loss of form. It was the result of a dispute with the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWLF), which accused him of joining a parallel body and subsequently barred him from competition.
The rift cost him a shot at the 2024 Paris Olympics, despite winning gold at the 2023 National Games.
But Nooh isn’t looking back.
“Let bygones be bygones,” he told Dawn. “What happened, happened. It’s all in the past now. I just want to focus on the future.”
With the federation issues now resolved — thanks to mediation efforts by Nuzhat Jabeen and Hafiz Jibran Butt — Nooh’s path has finally cleared.
Rather than rushing into top-tier events, Nooh is taking a measured approach. With the national weightlifting team unlikely to participate in November’s Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, he turned his attention to the US championship as a strategic warm-up for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
“I haven’t competed in weightlifting for almost three years now,” he explained.
“After such a long gap, you don’t feel your best.
So I decided to compete in the event in the US
to better prepare myself.”
The Florida event will clash with December’s National Games in Karachi, but Nooh has committed to participating in the national trials as well.
“I will take part in the selection trials,” he affirmed. “There are some athletes under the impression that I won’t be able to compete. They need to be answered as well.”
While sidelined from weightlifting, Nooh, the Pride of Performance Award winner, refused to let his competitive fire dim. He channeled his energy into powerlifting and World’s Strongman competitions, collecting medals.
He dominated in South Africa, winning seven gold and one bronze medal across categories. He also clinched two Commonwealth powerlifting titles, a feat that made him one of the few athletes ever to win Commonwealth gold in both weightlifting and powerlifting.
His dominance continued at the Asian level in Uzbekistan, where he executed a staggering 400kg squat to win gold, and added two more golds in a Strongman competition earlier this year. These weren’t just consolation prizes; they were declarations that the “Hulk of Pakistan” was far from finished.
A FATHER’S INFLUENCE
Behind Nooh’s resilience is a story of family, legacy and relentless discipline. His father, Ghulam Dastagir Butt — an 18-time national champion and five-time South Asian medallist — has been his coach, mentor and motivator.
Their relationship transcends the gym. In fact, the family home in Gujranwala has been transformed into a training ground.
“My father made a gym for me and my brother in the house so we didn’t have to go out,” Nooh shared. “It’s only after the Commonwealth Games that he allowed us to go outside a bit. Before that, we’d stay inside for two or three months straight — only leaving to run in a nearby park.”
His mother echoed the sentiment: “Our entire home feels like a training ground. Nooh’s father doesn’t rest until he completes both of his daily training sessions.”
That discipline came with high expectations. When Nooh won bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, his father remained displeased for nearly four years.
“I lifted more in training than the gold medallist lifted in competition,” Nooh recalled.
It wasn’t until he clinched gold in Birmingham in 2022 that the dissatisfaction finally subsided.
NEW CHALLENGES, NEW MINDSET
Now 27, married, and navigating different physical and mental challenges, Nooh admits this comeback is unlike any chapter before.
“In 2022, it was do or die. We had invested everything — but those were financial struggles,” he reflected. “
Now, I’ve gained a lot of weight, faced injuries and it’s been mentally disturbing. I’m going through a lot of different things now, and hopefully, when I rise out of them, that will be the best version of me.”
His goal for the US event is to lift at least 380kg. For the 2026 Commonwealth Games, he’s targeting 420kg — his personal best.
“If I can’t lift 380kg, that means I’m way behind in my preparation.”
For Nooh, an Olympic medal remains the ultimate dream — one that he and his father share deeply.
“My father invested everything in my success, financially and mentally, just for the dream that I could win a gold medal for my country,” Nooh said. “God willing, I will give all I have to win a medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.”
A VOICE FOR CHANGE
Having experienced federation disputes firsthand — a struggle his father also faced in his time — Nooh now advocates for systematic resolution of conflicts.
“Differences with the federation should be resolved in a systematic way,” he urged. “Instead of crying foul in the media, which I also did in the past, one should resolve issues according to the set rules.”
He also addressed doping, a sensitive subject in Pakistani weightlifting. Last year, four national lifters were handed four-year bans for anti-doping violations.
“When athletes test positive, it is their own fault, but the whole federation is held responsible, and clean athletes have to suffer,” Nooh stated.
He called on the Pakistan Sports Board to ensure all athletes due for international events are tested beforehand, so others don’t pay the price.
According to an International Testing Agency report, which was published last year, four Pakistani weightlifters — Sharjeel Butt, Abdur Rehman, Ghulam Mustafa and Farhan Amjad — were sanctioned with a period of ineligiblity of four years for an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV), committed in November 2021.
Since then Pakistan tightened their policy on doping and in September, the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) removed Pakistan from their watchlist.
The country was placed on WADA’s watchlist in September 2024 over outstanding non-conformities to the agency’s updated anti-doping code.
THE FINAL LIFT
With the world stage waiting and a father’s legacy on his shoulders, Nooh isn’t just coming back to compete. He’s coming back to conquer — for his family, his country and every athlete who’s been told to quit.
His time away from the platform taught him more than just patience; it forged a new perspective on his role. For Nooh, success is no longer just about the weight on the bar, but the weight of his example.
“The best thing an athlete can do is, instead of forsaking the sport, be a vessel of hope for future athletes,” he said. “Make sure others don’t suffer the same fate.”
For Nooh, the true measure of strength isn’t in kilos lifted, but in the courage to rise after every fall.
