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Wales-Malta-Northern Ireland Junior Tournament 2009, HolyHead, Wales

Maltese youngsters leave their mark in Wales tournament Agius and Sapiano place first in respective categoriesFive young members of the MCAST club in Naxxar made a good advert for Maltese weightlifting with a spate of positive results in a tournament for juniors, held in Holyhead, Wales earlier this month.Ryan Agius topped the 69kg class with a total of 138kg, in the process establishing new personal records of 60kg in snatch and 78kg in clean and jerk.In the 105kg competition, Mark Sapiano had the better of his Welsh opponents to finish first. Sapiano had a total of 162kg after heaving 77kg in snatch and 85kg in clean and jerk.Clyde Sammut set a new personal best in claiming second place in the 94kg category. Sammut lifted 58kg in the snatch and 70kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 128kg.Clint Sammut was third in the 77kg with a total of 133kg (53kg snatch and 80kg clean and jerk).Christian Saliba took part in the 85kg category. He also achieved a personal best with a total of 193kg (85kg in snatch and 108kg in clean and jerk).The Maltese team were led by club officials David Saliba and Glenn Lucas.During their stay in Wales, the Maltese representatives strengthened their friendly relations with their foreign counterparts and also discussed the possibility of organising an international tournament in Malta next year.

Indian Weightlifting Federation election process to start

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will this week set the ball rolling for elections to reconstitute the dope-tainted IndianWeighlifting Federation, the officials of which resigned en masse after six lifters tested positive for banned substances last month. IOA Secretary General Randhir Singh said that dates for the elections would be announced in the coming few days and none of those who resigned would be allowed to contest. "We would issue notification for the elections in the coming week and no one from the previous federation would be allowed to contest," Randhir said. "The IOA will start discussing the matter tomorrow," he added. The Indian Federation, which has been banned twice in the past, is once again faced with the possibility of stringent punishment from the international body for the most recent dope scandal in which six lifters flunked out-of-competition WADA tests in September in Pune.

Dominican Republic’s Contreras did not violate doping rules

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced sanctions against five athletes who participated in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing for having committed anti-doping violations. However, it did not disqualify Dominican Republic's Yudelquis Maridalin Contreras (fifth in the 53kg weightlifting event) after counter-analysis failed to confirm the initial

IWF Executive Board discussed Indian Federation’s doping cases issue

The IWF Executive Board discussed the issue of the several Indian positive doping cases. Regarding the facts that the India has repeatedly produced multiple cases in recent years, on the other hand, however, the cases are still in process, the Executive Board shall take a very strong action against the Indian Federation, once all the cases are closed. Such actions will be made public upon the closure of the last

IWF Executive Board discussed Indian Federation’s doping cases issue

The IWF Executive Board discussed the issue of the several Indian positive doping cases. Regarding the facts that the India has repeatedly produced multiple cases in recent years, on the other hand, however, the cases are still in process, the Executive Board shall take a very strong action against the Indian Federation, once all the cases are closed. Such actions will be made public upon the closure of the last

Disqualified officials in Nigeria

Sports Minister and Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Engr. Sani Ndanusa, has been disqualified from contesting for the presidency of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC). The NOC Public Relations Officer, Tony Nezianya, disclosed this to newsmen yesterday in Lagos after the executive committee meeting to screen those seeking election into the NOC board. The NOC election is scheduled for Dec. 9, 2009 in Dutse, Jigawa State. He said that the minister was disqualified for not meeting the statutory requirement for the position of the NOC president. Nezianya quoted article 26: 1:2 of the NOC to support Ndanusa's disqualification. The article says candidates for the position of the president must have served in an executive position or at the level of a commission of an International Federation or the Commonwealth Games Federation for a period of at least four years. He said that two of the four candidates for the position of the Secretary-General - rtd Navy Captain Babatunde Adedimeji and Prof. Olakitan De-Souza - were also disqualified. According to him, Adedimeji is disqualified for being on the executive board of the Africa Weightlifting Federation for just a year instead of the mandatory two years