ISLAMABAD: The second Asian Masters Weightlifting and Grand Prix Championship, scheduled to be held in Islamabad next month, has been postponed due to the ongoing unrest in Iran.
The Pakistan Masters Weightlifting Association (PMWA) announced on Wednesday that the event will now be held from April 20 to 25, 2026 in the Pakistani capital.
Citing the International Masters Weightlifting Association, PMWA said that IMWA, after holding a meeting with it, decided to postpone the event for a number of reasons regarding Iran.
It is pertinent to mention here that most of the members of the Asian Weightlifting Masters committee are Iranian, while the Asian Weightlifting Masters secretariat is run from Iran, where there is currently no internet connection.
“Of the 21 nations participating in the event, a quarter come from Iran. It is not certain that an Iranian will be able to leave their country to travel to Pakistan for the event (initially) scheduled for February 6-11, 2026.
“The fact is that other flights of international master athletes, coaches and technical officials will use Iranian airspace. Recently, most international/Asian airlines have canceled their flights to or flying over Iranian airspace,” the IMWA letter read.
The letter further states that registration will reopen to allow more athletes to participate in the event.
Published in Dawn, January 22, 2026
