Russia has lost the hosting rights for the European Youth Weightlifting Championships in Kazan ©Getty Images

Russia has lost the hosting rights for the European Youth Weightlifting Championships set to be held in August.

Two nations, as yet unnamed, have already expressed an interest in hosting the event, which was on the calendar for August 3 to 10 in Kazan.

The decision to ditch Kazan as host city was made when the International Olympic Committee took a hard line against Russia and its ally Belarus after its invasion of Ukraine.

The European Weightlifting Federation (EWF) said it was "deeply concerned about the safety of the weightlifting community’s members located in the conflict areas and expresses its full solidarity".

"The EWF hopes that peace will soon be restored," EWF said in a statement.

EWF officials with the President of Albania, Ilir Meta, centre, in Tirana ©EWF
EWF officials with the President of Albania, Ilir Meta, centre, in Tirana ©EWF

The EWF was unable to inform members on its website, which has been decommissioned by a Turkish IT company.

It is instead sending out information on a bulletin addressed to all member federations while attempts are made to set up a new website.

The senior Championships are the next big event on the EWF calendar, from May 25 to June 5 in Tirana, Albania’s capital city.

On a recent visit to Tirana, the EWF president Antonio Conflitti, general secretary Milan Mihajlovic and treasurer Astrit Hasani met local weightlifting officials and the President of Albania, Ilir Meta.