Ouisal Ikhlef
Doha, Qatar: Former Olympic champion Fares Ibrahim and rising talent Ouisal Ikhlef will spearhead Qatar’s medal bid in weightlifting at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, as the duo targets medals in Japan from September 19 to October 4.
Fares, who won silver at the Jakarta-Palembang 2018 Asian Games before going on to achieve the biggest success of his career with Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020, will be looking to guide Qatar back onto the podium.
Ikhlef, meanwhile, has been showing encouraging progress and is regarded as one of the emerging talents in Qatari weightlifting.
khlef’s most recent milestone came at the 2026 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Gandhinagar, India. Facing a top-class field, she delivered an exceptional performance to claim two silver medals (Clean & Jerk and Total) and one bronze medal (Snatch) in the 86kg+ category.
Notably, Ikhlef out-lifted Republic of Korea’s world No. 2-ranked Park Hye-jeong to secure her spot on the continental podium. She registered personal bests across the board, lifting 130kg in the Snatch and 169kg in the Clean & Jerk for a total score of 299kg
In late 2025, Ikhlef staged a flawless campaign at the Combined Doha Championships. Competing simultaneously across three tournaments - the Qatar International Cup, the Arab Championships, and the West Asian Championships - she swept a staggering nine gold medals, topping competitors from heavyweights like Thailand and South Korea.
The duo will be determined to restore Qatar to the Asian Games podium after the national team endured a disappointing campaign at Hangzhou 2022, where it failed to win a medal. Qatar has enjoyed a proud tradition in Asian Games weightlifting, winning three medals across three editions, including one gold and two silver.
The first came at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, Republic of Korea, when Asaad Saeed Saif claimed gold in the 105kg category. He produced a total lift of 417.5kg, with 192.5kg in the snatch and 225kg in the clean and jerk, in a performance that announced Qatar’s arrival among the continent’s leading weightlifting nations.
Four years later, Jaber Saeed Salem added a silver medal on home soil at the 2006 Doha Asian Games. Competing in the over-105kg category, Salem lifted a total of 410kg, including 185kg in the snatch and 225kg in the clean and jerk, to finish second behind renowned Iranian champion Hossein Rezazadeh after a closely contested battle.
Qatar’s most recent Asian Games medal came at Jakarta-Palembang 2018, when Ibrahim won silver in the 94kg category. Fares lifted a combined 381kg, comprising 166kg in the snatch and 215kg in the clean and jerk, to finish behind Iran’s Sohrab Moradi, who had set a world record at the time.
That silver marked an important turning point in Fares’ career, providing further momentum for the young lifter, who went on to achieve the biggest success of his career by winning Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020.
Now an experienced lifter, Fares returns to the Asian Games carrying the expectations of a nation and the experience of competing on the biggest stages. Alongside him, Ikhlef will be looking to make her mark and underline her potential as one of Qatar’s rising weightlifting stars.
