Career
He started weightlifting at the age of 15 in Azerbaijan. In 1985, he was admitted to the national team of the Soviet Union. He earned his first medal for Turkey in gold in the -56 kg snatch division at the 1990 World Weightlifting Championships held in Budapest, Hungary.
Unfortunately, he broke his arm during the clean and jerk session.
Hafız Sülemanoğlu participated twice at the Olympics, 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain and 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States of America. At the 1998 World Weightlifting Championships held in Lahti, Finland, he could reach the 9th rank only. As he repeated his unseccessful competitions at the 1999 European Weightlifting Championships in A Coruña, Spain and at the 1999 World Weightlifting Championships in Athens, Greece, Turkey Weightlifting Federation decided to take him out of the national team
Hafız Süleymanoğlu declared thereupon that he will return to Azerbaijan.