Iran sets sights on Asian youth weightlifting crown, says women’s coach
Iran women’s weightlifting head coach Elham Hosseini says her team is targeting the team title at the upcoming Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships before turning its full attention to the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Speaking after the national team’s initial selection trials, Hosseini said the coaching staff was still evaluating lifters for both the continental championships, which begin on August 7 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and the Asian Games.
The 20th edition of the continental multi-sport event will open at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, on September 19.
“This week’s trials were the first stage of selecting the national team for the Asian Youth and Junior Championships in Uzbekistan and the Asian Games,” Hosseini said. “The athletes need to be tested so we can assess their form ahead of the Games.”
She explained that the Asian Games squad would be selected from athletes across the youth, junior, and senior age groups, with places awarded to those demonstrating the strongest medal potential.
“The competition is close, and we have not made a final decision yet,” Hosseini said. “We will hold another round of trials, and the athletes’ performances in Uzbekistan will play a major role in determining the Nagoya squad.”
Iran will send a full 13-member squad to Tashkent, with three youth lifters also competing in the junior division.
According to Hosseini, two athletes were cut from the original 15-member training group following the selection trials, reflecting the program’s growing depth.
“The standard has improved significantly,” she said. “Our youth lifters are posting totals close to those of the senior team. Our goal in Uzbekistan is not only to win individual medals but also to claim the team title.”
Iran has been allocated three women’s weightlifting quotas for the Asian Games, and Hosseini said only athletes with realistic medal prospects would be selected.
“Our aim is to fill all three quotas with lifters capable of winning medals,” she said. “Compared with previous editions, this is a completely new national team. We have been working with these athletes since last year, and many of them are still teenagers. We hope they can deliver outstanding performances and win medals at the Asian Games.”
Hosseini said preparations for the Asian Games began after last year’s Islamic Solidarity Games (ISG) in Riyadh, with training camps held in Ardabil, Tehran, and, most recently, Chalous. One phase of the program was suspended for a month because of the military conflict earlier this year before preparations resumed.
She added that 32 promising lifters identified at last year’s national youth and junior championships had been invited to training camps, with five earning places in the squad bound for Uzbekistan and emerging as potential candidates for the Asian Games.
Looking beyond Nagoya, Hosseini said Iran was also building toward the World Weightlifting Championships in China, scheduled to begin on October 27.
“The World Championships are extremely important because they are the first Olympic qualifying event,” she said. “We want to send a strong team capable of achieving good results. The federation has provided full support so our athletes can perform well at the Asian Games and on the road to the Olympics.”
Iranian women will look to build on a promising ISG campaign in the Saudi capital last November, where they collected six medals.
Teenage sensation Mahsa Beheshti spearheaded the medal haul with a clean and jerk gold and two bronze medals in the women’s -86kg class. Reihaneh Karimi added clean and jerk and total bronze medals in the -69kg event, while Zahra Hosseini claimed the snatch bronze in the -77kg category.