Weightlifter Sybil to create history for Pak
The 2024 Commonwealth Powerlifting champion Sybil Sohail will make history as the first Pakistani woman to compete at the Asian Masters Weightlifting Championship in Doha, Qatar, on Friday.
"I just want to ask for prayers and best wishes from the entire nation as I'm going to make history here," Sybil, who has won at least 20 international medals and 36 national medals in her career, told this correspondent from Doha. "I will be aiming for the medal-winning performance. But, I badly need support and prayers. I want to make Pakistan like I always have tried to on the international level."
She will be competing in the W-30 59 Kg in Doha as her event will start at 1900 PST on Friday.
The championship will feature athletes from 26 countries and Sybil is expecting a tough competition in the sweltering summer in Doha.
Pakistan is also fielding Neelum Riaz and Nadia Maqsood in 76kg and 87 kg events, along with four male weightlifters to compete in various categories.
The Lahore-based athlete has been one of the pioneering powerlifters and weightlifters in Pakistan, as she hails from a family of extremely empowered women that has won numerous accolades on the international stage.
Her younger sisters include Twinkle Sohail, Veronika Sohail, and Mariam Sohail, all of whom have also been the Commonwealth Classic and Equipped Bench Press and Powerlifting Champions. They made the unique world record of winning 15 gold medals, three silver, and one bronze medal in October.
Sybil alone won six of those medals.
The sisters have been playing a crucial role in pushing the envelope for what Pakistani women can achieve in sports. Still, they have also been a shining example for the Christian community of the country, where athletes from minorities are becoming a rare sight progressively.
For Sybil, the eldest of the quartet, competing at the Asian Weightlifting Championship is a dream come true.
"The Asian Championship is extremely important to me, it is about making history, I will become the first woman from Pakistan to lift the weights for the country at this stage," said the 31-year-old.
"I'm excited beyond words, and I must credit my coach Rashed Malik for this, without whose guidance and training I wouldn't have reached this stage. After God, I thank him for all that my sisters and I have achieved so far."
'Determined to succeed for my family'
She added that she trained at Punjab University Sports Complex in Lahore.
"I have been training for this event for at least two hours in the morning and then four in the evening. But You know that we still struggle to have quality gyms and equipment in Pakistan," explained Sybil, who is also planning to start her MPhil next year as she is done with her Bachelor in Sports Science from Punjab University.
However, comparing the conditions in Doha to Lahore she added that the facilities are world-class and have training camps for athletes that help them succeed in the competitions too.
"You can't beat athletes that get proper facilities, infrastructure, and support and training with these resources. I belong to a middle-class family, but training and carrying on in limited resources, and managing a career in a sport that is male-dominated is difficult.
"Grooming one wrestler is difficult in these economic conditions, but in our home, there are four of us, so it is not difficult.
"I have seen times when my father would drink water for himself but make sure that all of us would get milkshakes so we grow strong, so when we saw all of these difficult times and how my parents have sacrificed for us, all four of us decided and make it our aim that we win medals, it is a blessing for us. No one has won 15 gold medals like we did at the Commonwealth and Asian level."
Switching from Powerlifting to Weightlifting
Now Sybil is aiming for the weightlifting medal.
"Weightlifting is definitely a more technical sport, and in my career since 2013, it has not been easy to switch quickly because techniques are there, we get injured too, but my eyes are always on the prize," said Sybil.
However, she made an appeal to the government of Pakistan," I just want the government to support us, we can only do so much on an individual level. We need institutional support like even now I am competing courtesy Arshad Khan Turk, who agreed to sponsor me."
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