Weightlifting World Championships:
Iran names provisional men’s squad for Manama visit
Iran head coach Navvab Nasir-Shalal announced a provisional 12-man squad for the upcoming IWF Weightlifting World Championships – starting December 4 in Manama, Bahrain.
Former Olympic silver medalist Ali Davoudi spearheads the list, with two-time world junior champion Alireza Yousefi – a +109kg world C&J record holder in the age class – also in the mix for a shot at superheavyweight glory in the seniors event.
Mirmostafa Javadi is the other high-profile weightlifter in the list, looking to emulate his results in last year’s competition in Riyadh, where he grabbed the clean & jerk and total golds in the 89kg contests.
Ali A’alipour is also in contention for an 89kg spot, having won a total gold and double silvers in February’s Asian Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The quadruple is joined by Abolfazl Zare’ and Alireza Nasiri, who collected nine medals between them in last year’s Asian Youth & Junior Championships, as well as 2023 Asian champion Hossein Soltani, Aria Paydar, Alireza Mo’eini, Reza Baghi, Mahdi Karami, and Ayat Sharifi in the squad, before two weightlifters are omitted for the visit to Manama.
Having won three medals through Javadi and Davoudi’s C&J bronze in last year’s world event, Iran will be looking for a fresh start after a below-par Olympic campaign in Paris, where the country missed out on a weightlifting medal in the Games for the first time since Beijing 2008.