Qatar’s golden athlete Fares promises to deliver more, sets sights on next Olympics

Qatar’s weightlifter Fares Ibrahim always held out a promise to deliver big one day. Having already excelled as a teenager, Fares’ big potential came to li...

Qatar’s weightlifter Fares Ibrahim always held out a promise to deliver big one day. Having already excelled as a teenager, Fares’ big potential came to light when as a 20-year-old he came up with a sensational show in the Men’s 96kg Snatch and Clean & Jerk category in the 5th Qatar International Cup 2018 in Doha. The affable athlete had also made a promise to HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) that he will win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics.Now as a 23-year-old he has lived up to the promise entering the history becoming Qatar’s first-ever gold medallist at the Olympic Games.Fares won the 96kg category gold and in the process set two Olympic records – a total lift of 402kgs and a clean and jerk lift of 225kg. Fares’ great show sent waves of delight in the nation and across the region. His Highness The Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also made a congratulatory call to the Qatari star. “I did not sleep for three days because of the excitement and joy after winning gold medal for Qatar. I will remain proud for the rest of my life to make the Qatari people happy. His Highness The Amir’s call was a big honour for me and it has motivated to prepare for Paris 2024. I will do my best to win a second gold medal for Qatar,” said Fares reflecting on what he achieved in Tokyo last Saturday.“My preparations started for Tokyo right after my participation at Rio Olympics as the youngest competitor ended. I promised His Excellency Sheikh Joaan at the time that I will win a gold medal. Since then we were working tirelessly to achieve this accolade,” Fares told a media delegation in Tokyo on Thursday.“This year I hardly took 10 days off as it was all about hours of training and preparations with a gold medal in Tokyo in our sights. Thanks to Allah that I was able to achieve the task,” he added. The weightlifter said support from the QOC President, and his own family particularly father Ibrahim, a former Olympian and his coach, were key to his success in Tokyo. “My parents have been very supportive, especially my father deserves most of the credit of what I’ve achieved. He always supports me no matter what I am going through. His Excellency Sheikh Joaan’s continuous support and his presence during the competition lifted my moral,” he added. On the tactics he adopted especially when he went from 217kgs to 220, Fares explained: “Certainly, we have an advantage in the snatch and clean and jerk lifts and in such competitions you put several tactics, including lifting a kilo more than your direct competitor, or doing the tactic we did, by lifting a very high weight, this makes your competitors stay away from you and do not think about you instead they compete between them, then a second attempt comes down to end things. Such a tactic is a risk but it is calculated and it occurs when you have an advantage and trust in your ability to achieve it. Thank God we succeeded with our tactics and achieved gold.”After sealing gold, Fares attempted a world record clean and jerk lift of 232kg but did not succeed. However, he is eyeing to set the record in future events. “Between each attempt there is a time of two minutes which is a very short break. My previous lift was 225kg and that was an Olympic record. I needed four to five minutes and if we had that time I would have lifted 232kg,” he said. He said the Tokyo field was tough but preparations made the gold medal possible. “We were very confident of winning because we covered all aspects during our preparations. But like in other sports, surprises are possible in weightlifting. “For example we were not expecting a competition from Venezuela’s Keydomar Vallenilla Sanchez, who ended up as silver medallist,” he added. Fares promises to keep up his hard work and deliver more. He said he is already looking at the next Olympics in Paris in 2024. “I am looking forward to break the world record as soon as possible.” First up, however, there will be a short rest before Fares returns to his preparations for the World Championship to be held in Georgia.Fares, who loves equestrian besides weightlifting, said before events he read books and during breaks in competitions he loves to spend his time on PlayStation. He said he loves steak but fish was his main meal during training camps and before the events. (Tribune News Network)