Asian Games: Qatar`s outclassed lifter `not here for holiday`

Incheon: Qatar gained a unique record at the weightlifting arena on Tuesday when Essa Saleh Al Buainain completed the lightest sequence of lifts in the Asian Games - male or female.

It prompted one official watching the men`s 77kg Group B event to tell AFP "I think he is here for tourism, not lifting. That`s not even a girl`s weight."

Al Buainain opened with a 55kg on the bar, or about two sacks of potatoes. 

He raised it to a less than Goliath-like 60kg and then went on to clean and jerk 80kg for a total of 140kg -- weights comfortably lifted at local gyms and fully 90kg lower than the next best competitor.

In comparison, the last-placed woman in the tiny 48kg weight class on Saturday recorded a total 26kg heavier than Al Buainain -- and she was only 1.40m (4ft 7in) tall.

The portly Al Buainain refused to answer AFP`s questions after, but Qatar Olympic Committee member Salman Ahmad was more forthright.

"This is preparation for the future," Ahmad told AFP. "All our three lifters will train for the future but they are still not experienced. We have to take them step by step.

"We are preparing now for the Gulf Cup in Dammam, Saudi Arabia in December," he added. 

And would Al Buainain be off sightseeing in Seoul now his schedule had been completed? "No. He is not coming here for holiday," Ahmad retorted. "He is still a young boy." 

Al Buainain will be 30 in December.