Ahmedabad, Oct 25 (IANS) The IWF Executive Board awarded Ahmedabad the hosting rights at its meeting in Ningbo, China, on Sunday, according to the international federation.

India secured the hosting rights for the event after competing with bids from Russia and Venezuela, with the decision placing Gujarat among the hosts of major international weightlifting competitions.

Announcing the development, Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi said on X: “Big news for India! Ahmedabad will host the 2029 IWF World Weightlifting Championships! 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.

The 2029 championship will also serve as a qualifying event for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, which India is scheduled to host. The announcement follows a series of international weightlifting events hosted in Gujarat.

Ahmedabad hosted the 2025 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships, while India hosted the 2026 Asian Senior Weightlifting Championships in Gujarat.

Held at the Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre in Gandhinagar from May 11 to 17, the Asian event drew athletes and officials from nearly 30 countries.

At its meeting, the IWF also announced the hosts of other world championships. Prishtina, Kosovo, will stage the 2028 World Youth Championships, while Caracas, Venezuela, will host the World Junior Championships that year.

Moscow has been awarded the rights to host the senior World Weightlifting Championships in 2030.

IWF General Secretary Jose Quinones said the successful bids demonstrated the sport's growing international reach, noting that "India, Kosovo and Venezuela would host IWF world events for the first time".

The federation said the decisions were intended to advance its international competition calendar for the coming years.

--IANS

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