6th International Fajr Cup:
Hasanpour strikes superheavyweight gold as Iran claims team title
Iranian weightlifters Reza Hasanpour and Ariya Paydar completed a one-two finish in the +110kg class on the final day of the International Fajr Cup in Tehran, as the host nation lifted the team trophy.
Former world junior silver medalist Hasanpour dominated the super-heavyweight event, tallying 190kg in the snatch and a best clean & jerk of 235kg for a total of 425kg on Friday. He finished 55 kilograms clear of compatriot Paydar, who registered 165kg-205kg-370kg. Afghanistan’s Fazal Karim Turkmen took the bronze with 130-175-305.
Earlier in the day, Abolfazl Zare’– a winner of three world junior medals in May–had to settle for silver in the 110kg event despite lifting 208kg to top the clean & jerk standings. His 171-208-379 performance saw him finish behind Turkmenistan’s Davranbek Hasanbayev, who secured the gold with a 185kg snatch and a 202kg clean & jerk. Tajikistan’s Akbarjon Ghafurov claimed the bronze with 125-155-280.
Meanwhile, in the 94kg event, Uzbekistan’s Mukhammadkodir Toshtemirov won the gold with 170-200-370. The Iranian duo of Ali Aalipour (161-196-357) and Hamidreza Zarei (149-195-346) finished second and third, respectively.
Friday’s medals came after Iran collected double golds through Hafez Qashqaei and Iliya Salehipour on the opening day of the event.
Competing in the men’s 65kg division, Qashqaei – the 2019 world clean & jerk silver medalist – lifted 122kg in the snatch and secured a best clean & jerk of 160kg to take the total gold with 282kg.
Meanwhile, Salehipour, coming off a triple-medal run at the Islamic Solidarity Games earlier this month, posted 155kg in the snatch and 192kg in the clean & jerk for a 344kg total to win a closely contested 88kg event.
Iran finished atop the team standings with 620.8 points, followed by Turkmenistan (486) and Uzbekistan (386).
Weightlifters from Iran, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia competed at the sixth edition of the tournament in Tehran.