The 21-year-old weighlifter from Gujranwala, Talha Talib, may have missed a shot at an Olympics medal in Tokyo but his performance has won him a place in Pakistanis' hearts.

Talib ultimately took fifth place in the 67 kg category but for a moment, he was holding the gold medal spot until the final round where he was bumped down.

As Dawn reported on Monday: "Talib's lift of 151kg in Snatch category was the second-best of the round. He failed in his first Clean & Jerk attempt of 166kg and even though he was successful for the same weight in his next attempt and also cleared 170kg later, his combined total of 320 was surpassed by others, including Zani, who lifted just 2kg more than Talib."

Talib's performance lit Twitter's mood up with many taking to the social media platform to send the young weightlifter their best wishes. He was especially praised for having come this far without much support from authorities.