Disabled Iranian weightlifters have pocketed two silver medals in the 2015 IPC Powerlifting Asian Open Championships in Kazakhstan.
On Wednesday, 36-year-old Amir Ali Sadeqzadeh Salmani fetched a silver medal for Iran in the men’s up-to-107-kilogram weight class at the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace in the city of Almaty.
He started with a 228-kilogram first-round lift. The Iranian sportsman progressed to 234 kilograms in the second attempt but failed to raise 242 kilograms in his third and final lift.
Azerbaijani athlete Elshan Huseynov managed to raise 232 kilograms, 237 kilograms and 242 kilograms in his first to third attempts to get the gold.
The bronze went to Greece’s Pavlos Mamalos, 44, who lifted 233 kilograms in his second and final attempt.
The battle in the men’s up-to-88-kilogram race on Tuesday saw China’s Ye Jixiong clinch gold with a lift of 226 kilograms. Iranian weightlifter Seyyed Hamed Solhipour Avanji lifted 220 kilograms to take silver; and Mongolia’s representative, Sodnompiljee Enkhbayar, elevated 205 kilograms to round off the podium and pick up the bronze.
The 2015 IPC Powerlifting Asian Open Championships started in Almaty on June 26, and will run until July 30.
The tournament, which features more than 220 athletes from 32 countries, is a key qualifier for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.