The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) said its Executive Board on Sunday awarded four World Championships between 2028 and 2030, with the 2029 senior World Championships to be staged in Ahmedabad, India. The decision was taken at the board's meeting in Ningbo, China, the federation said in its official release dated October 25.
Source: International Weightlifting Federation (IWF)
India secured the hosting rights after competing with bids from Russia and Venezuela, IANS reported. Announcing the development on X, Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi called it big news for India and said that after the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2025 and the Asian Weightlifting Championships 2026, the world's best weightlifters are now coming to Gujarat. Indian Weightlifting Federation president Sahdev Yadav called the decision a major development for the sport in the country, according to the report.
Source: IANS via Hi India
IWF General Secretary Jose Quinones said all the bids received were excellent and that the federation was sure the championships in the chosen countries would be a huge success. He noted that three of the four host countries — Kosovo, Venezuela and India — will be organising an IWF world event for the first time, which he said demonstrated that the sport is growing worldwide.
Source: International Weightlifting Federation (IWF)
In the same set of awards, Prishtina in Kosovo will stage the 2028 World Youth Championships, Caracas in Venezuela will host the 2028 World Junior Championships, and Moscow will host the senior World Championships in 2030, the IWF said. IANS reported that the 2029 championship in Ahmedabad will also serve as a qualifying event for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, which India is scheduled to host.
Source: IANS via BizzBuzz
The announcement follows a run of international weightlifting events in Gujarat. Ahmedabad hosted the 2025 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships, and the 2026 Asian Senior Weightlifting Championships were held at the Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre in Gandhinagar from May 11 to 17, drawing athletes and officials from nearly 30 countries, IANS reported.