Asian Youth & Junior Weightlifting Championships:
Iran names 26-member squad for Tashkent event
Iran will be represented by 12 male and 14 female lifters across the two age groups at the upcoming Asian Youth & Junior Weightlifting Championships, which will kick off on Friday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the Iranian Weightlifting Federation has confirmed.
Iran will return to the competition after missing last year’s event in Astana due to wartime circumstances in the country.
In the women’s competition, Yalda Sharifi and Hajar Moeini will compete in the youth 61kg event, while Maryam Keshtkar is set to contest the junior category of the weight class.
Mehraneh Mokhtari and Mehrsa Safavardi have been selected for the youth 69kg division, while Hanieh Sharifi and Hasti Sedighi will compete in the junior event.
Dina Taqizadeh (junior), Nasim Qassemi (youth) and Anahita Zarei will compete in the 77kg division, with Zarei entered in both age categories.
Mahsa Beheshti will lift in the junior 86kg and youth +77kg categories, looking to build on her impressive international breakthrough at the Islamic Solidarity Games, where she won a clean & jerk gold and two bronze medals. Ava Farhadi will also compete in the youth +77kg event.
Hosna Amiri and Roya Nourinejad complete Iran’s women’s lineup in the junior +86kg class.
The men’s competition, meanwhile, will see Reza Zamani (youth) and Mehrab Davasari (junior) represent Iran in the 70kg category.
Kian Valipour (youth) and Mohammadamin Dadvand (youth and junior) have been selected for the 85kg division, while Mohammadjavad Beiranvand will compete in both the youth and junior 75kg events.
Amirmohammad Rahmati, Hamidreza Zarei, who won two medals at the IWF World Junior Championships in Cairo in May, and Mahdi Asgari will contest the 95kg class, with Rahmati and Zarei entered in the junior competition and Asgari in the youth event.
In the heavyweight divisions, Pouria Abbaspourian will compete in the youth +95kg category, while Taha Nojavan is entered in both the youth +95kg and junior +110kg events.
Farhad Qolizadeh, winner of three silver medals in Cairo, will lift in the junior 110kg class, while Taha Nemati Moqaddam – also a three-time silver medalist in the Egyptian capital – will represent Iran in the junior +110kg division.
Iran will be aiming for another strong showing at the continental championships after producing a string of medal-winning performances in recent Asian age-group competitions, having won the men’s junior team title in its previous appearance at the event in 2024.