Iran’s Aminzadeh bags gold at Para Powerlifting World Cup
Iranian para powerlifter Ahmad Aminzadeh clinched a second gold medal for the country at the Fazza 2024 World Cup in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
Participating in the men’s +107kg contest, Aminzadeh registered successful 250kg and 260kg lifts in his first two attempts before a final lift of 267kg saw the Iranian claim a second major gold in five months following his triumph in last year’s Asian Para Games.
With the event serving as part of the qualification for Paris Paralympics, Saturday’s victory leaves Aminzadeh in pole position to punch his ticket for the French capital in September, where he will be looking to emulate his late fellow-Iranian Siamand Rahman – a superheavyweight world record holder and two-time Paralympic champion, who passed away in March 2020.
Aminzadeh’s teammate Mahdi Sayyadi was also part of the event on Saturday but narrowly missed out on the podium, despite a strong performance with 231kg, and settled for the fourth place.
Sayyadi had finished second to Aminzadeh at the Para Gamers in Hangzhou.
Earlier in the competition, Mohsen Bakhtiar delivered a record-breaking performance to win the gold in the 59kg event.
The Iranian lifted 186kg and then went on to overcome the 196kg weight and shatter the Asian record.
More than 180 athletes from 32 countries have been taking part at the 13th edition of the competition.
Hossein Tavakkoli, a gold medalist at Sydney 2000, is the head coach of the Iranian eight-man squad in Dubai.