Abdelhady, Solhipouravanji battle at World Cup

A thrilling face-off between Egypt’s Hany Abdelhady and Iran’s Seyedhamed Solhipouravanji resulted in an incredible three world records at the IPC Powerlifting World Cup in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday (18 February).

Both powerlifters cleared their first two lifts in the men’s up to 88kg before unleashing their full strength in the third round.

Paralympic champion Abdelhady was the first to show his hand, pushing 231kg to add 1kg onto the previous best of China’s Jixiong Ye.

Asian Championships silver medallist Solhipouravanji, clearly bolstered by Abdelhady’s performance, then improved the mark by a further 1kg to claim gold.

Not to be outdone Abdelhady dipped into his reserves, coming back out for a fourth time and lifting 233kg to put his name in the record books.

Adding to the excitement Solhipouravanji then decided he would attempt 233.5kg, but it was not to be.

Abdelhady took home silver as only lifts registered in the first three rounds count towards the medal standings. The United Arab Emirates’ Mohammed Khamis Khalaf (227kg) also registered a strong performance, claiming bronze with three good lifts.

Another world record followed for Egypt’s Paralympic champion Mohamed Eldib in the men’s up to 97kg.

Eldib, who is also a silver medallist from the 2014 Worlds, finished with a flourish in the third round after clearing two previous attempts of 235kg and 240kg. He added 2kg onto his own world record, lifting 243kg to seal gold.

Iran’s Saman Razi secured silver with 222kg, followed by Ukraine’s Anton Kriukov in third. Kriukov broke the European record twice on his way to the podium, adding an impressive 6kg onto his own mark with 221kg.

Russia’s World Championships bronze medallist Vera Muratova headlined the women’s competitions, improving on her up to 79kg European record. Muratova got into her stride in the second and third rounds with two good lifts, climaxing on her last attempt with 126kg.

Egypt’s Geehan Hassan (120kg) claimed silver, followed by Ukraine’s Liyubov Semenyuk (102kg).

Egypt’s world champion Randa Mahmoud (140kg) recovered from a no lift in the first round to finish in first place in the women’s up to 86kg.

Jordan’s Tharwh Tayseer Hamdan Alhajaj (119kg) was second, equalled by Russia’s Olga Kazankevich who took third place on the podium because of her heavier bodyweight.

Mahmoud’s World Championships silver medallist teammate Amany Ali claimed victory in the women’s up to 73kg with a 115kg push.

Incheon 2014 Asian Para Games champion Arawan Bootpo of Thailand finished second with three good lifts, building towards 110kg.

Ukraine’s 18-year-old Alina Kumeyko grabbed bronze with a new junior world record of 98kg. Kumeyko only needed one good lift to reach the new mark, adding 1kg onto her previous best set at the European Championships in 2015.

Full results are available at the IPC Powerlifting's website.

Competition concludes in Dubai with the men’s up to 107kg and over 107kg; and women’s over 86kg on Friday (19 February).

All the action, including live results, is being shown at www.ipc-powerlifting.org.

The 2015 IPC Powerlifting World Cup in Dubai is the penultimate opportunity for athletes to improve their place in the Paralympic rankings for Rio 2016. The final chance will be at another World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, between 24-28 February.