Para Powerlifting African Open Championships:
Jafari, Bakhtiar sweep men’s -72kg golds in Oran
Iranian para powerlifters Amir Jafari and Mohsen Bakhtiar stole the show in the men’s -72kg contests at the African Open Championships, grabbing two golds and a silver medal in Oran, Algeria, on Friday.
A Paralympic silver medalist in Tokyo 2020, Jafari began his campaign with a 196kg lift but failed with his 205kg effort on his second attempt, before bouncing back to overcome the weight with his final lift to pip Bakhtiar, who also posted a best lift of 205kg, for the top prize.
The closely contested race saw Iraq’s Ahmed Al-Karkhi settle for bronze, trailing the top two Iranians by one kilogram.
Reigning Paralympic bronze medalist Bakhtiar, meanwhile, went on to clinch the total gold with an impressive tally of 605kg. High-profile Algerian Hocine Bettir — a winner of five world medals and back-to-back Paralympic bronzes — posted 581kg for the silver, with Uganda’s Ismail Issa Ssebaggala finishing on 506kg to take the bronze.
Jafari finished sixth in the total standings with 401kg.
Friday’s results came after Iran’s Alireza Izadi and Mahdiyeh Mohammadian had collected four medals between them on the first day of the competition.
Competing in the men’s -59kg weight class, Izadi posted three successful efforts to bag the bronze on 183kg before winning the total gold with a 542kg tally.
In the women’s -55kg competition, Mohammadian also registered three successful lifts (95-102-105) to finish with bronze and the total silver.
Featuring more than 150 contestants from 20 countries, the event, which marks the third regional championships in this year’s four-event series, will conclude today.
With the regional championships forming a mandatory part of the LA28 Paralympic qualification pathway, athletes aim to secure valuable ranking points and set new continental benchmarks ahead of other major events in 2026.