World Para Powerlifting Championships:
Iranians impress with eight junior golds
Iranians collected nine medals, including a remarkable eight golds, in the Rookie and Next Gen age class at the World Para Powerlifting Championships in in Cairo, Egypt.
Atiyeh Sadat Hosseini, 17, made history by winning Iran’s maiden women’s gold at the World Championships, triumphing in the -61kg category.
“I’m so happy and proud to get the gold here,” said Hosseini who grabbed the gold with her second attempt of 90kg.
The Iranian girl posted 175kg in total to win her second gold medal.
Meanwhile, Iranian young guns stole the show on Friday, delivering a dominant performance in the men’s heavyweight categories much like their senior counterparts.
Mani Saeidi clinched the gold in the -88kg category (Next Gen) in style. The 19-year-old began his campaign by setting a new world record of 166kg before bettering the mark with 172kg on his second attempt.
Reza Enayatollahi celebrated his 18th birthday in advance, securing the -97kg category with a new Next Gen world record of 195kg with his second attempt.
“I worked hard for 11 years for this result. I believe the key to success is hard work and listening to your coach,” said Enayatollahi, who aims for a medal at Paralympic Games.
An overall tally of 383kg saw the Iranian prodigy also clinch the total gold.
Hassan Mohammad Hosseinpour claimed the ultimate prize in the Next Gen -80kg class, thanks to a 156kg lift, but settled for the total silver with 303kg.
Amirali Es’haqnia also enjoyed a double-gold winning campaign in the +107kg with a 171-336 record as Iran finished third in the table – following Uzbekistan, which bagged 13 golds, and Armenia.
This was the largest ever Rookie & Next Gen World Championships with 120 athletes (36 female and 84 male athletes), aged 20 or younger, who competed in 19 events.