By Brian Oliver at the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace in Almaty

Penang will host the 2017 IWF World Championships ©Getty ImagesThe 2017 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships will be held in Penang, Malaysia, it has been announced. 


Penang, which staged the 2011 World Junior Championships, was chosen by the IWF Executive Board at a meeting in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The Malaysians beat strong bids from three other nations: Belarus, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

Asia had to wait more than 50 years to host its first World Championships in Tehran, Iran, in 1957.

It is an indicator of the ever-growing status of the continent in the sport that Penang will be the fifth Asian city this century to host the World Championships.

Asia has become a powerhouse in the sport of weightlifting despite having to wait 50 years to host its first World Championships in Tehran, Iran in 1957 ©Getty ImagesAsia has become a powerhouse in the sport of weightlifting despite having to wait 50 years to host its first World Championships in Tehran, Iran in 1957 ©Getty Images



The 2014 World Championships are currently being held in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The 2015 World Championships is due to be in Houston, Texas.

It will be the first time since 1984, when it was a men-only sport, that the weightlifting's World Championships has been in the United States.

Los Angeles was the venue on that occasion, with the Championships incorporated as part of the Olympic Games.

As there are now no World Championships held in Olympic years, there will be none in 2016.