At just 20 years of age, Pakistani weightlifter Rabia Shahzad shows little sign of stopping. After being “turned down” by the national weightlifting federation in Pakistan, she says she decided to go ahead on her own. Today, she has become the youngest female weightlifter to bag a gold for her country at an international championship in Australia.
She was competing in the 55kg category, where she lifted 40kg in the snatch competition and 50 in clean and jerk to win the gold medal. The event was organised by the New South Wales Weightlifting Association.
Speaking to SBS Urdu, Shahzad's jubilation and enthusiasm shone through in her voice. Shahzad now aims to participate in the International Women Weightlifting Grand Prix in Slovenia next year, and later qualify for the 2024 Olympics.
Rabia Shahzad at the Ralph Cashman Weightlifting Championship in Sydney Source: Author
"I will go back to Pakistan next week and start training more to represent my country at other international events," she says.
There have been hurdles, she says, but nothing can stop her from doing her country proud.
Lifting the weight of bureaucracy
Shahzad's strength and victory didn't come easily. She tells SBS Urdu that she has had to fight through bureaucratic obstacles at different levels of her career.
Rabia is now aiming to participate in International Women’s Weightlifting Gran Prix in Slovenia next year, and later qualify for the 2024 Olympics.
She first started with power-lifting and then switched to weightlifting, when she decided to represent Pakistan at the Asian Games.
“The gym I went to had separate gyms for men and women, but the women’s gym did not have any weights. I had to fight the management for weeks to get some weights to the women’s gym.”
Shahzad is also wary of the support from the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWF), which, she says not only refuses to fund her international tours, but also any help with registration for events.
“Our federations demotivate us and try to pull us back,” she says.
She said she recently won a silver medal for Pakistan at the Asian Championship after defeating an Indian competitor. Later, when she requested the Federation secretary to help her register for the Asian Classic Power-lifting Championship, she says he refused any help.
Rabia Shahzad won the 55kg women's category at the championship in Sydney Source: Author
Our federations demotivate us and try to pull us back: Rabia Shahzad
“My father requested it of him too, but after a few calls he blocked his number and stopped responding to my text messages,” says Shahzad.
She was heartbroken initially, but then she opted for the Australian championship because her father was already participating in a rowing competition in the Gold Coast, Queensland. Her tour was self-funded, she says.
Management responds
Shahzad accuses the secretary of favoritism and supporting only his preferred group of girls.
When contacted, Federation secretary Rashed Malik denied these accusations. He said he had always supported her participation at powerlifting events in the country, which were mostly organised in Lahore.
“There was no prospect for a medal at Asian Classic Power-lifting in Mongolia for her, but Rabia and her father had been pressuring me to send her entry, knowing that there is no Mongolian embassy or consulate in Pakistan,” he told SBS Urdu.
There was no prospect for a medal at Asian Classic Power-lifting in Mongolia for her, but Rabia and her father had been pressuring me to send her entry: PWF secretary Rashed Malik
Malik says he had been asking them to remain calm and let him sort things out. He says he learned from elsewhere that she was participating at the championship in Sydney.
“Things don’t happen that quickly when you’re participating at international events," says Malik. "You cannot switch from one event to another from one corner of the world to another that easily.”
He says he had always supported her but “failed to understand her attitude and behaviour”. 
Rabia's living area back home has been turned into a training room. Source: Author
