Kuala Lumpur to host IPC Powerlifting Asian Open Championships

“For many athletes, these Championships will be a vital opportunity to attain the necessary Minimum Qualifying Standard (MQS) required to enter the 2014 IPC Powerlifting World Championships to be held in Dubai.”

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced on Thursday (15 August) that the 2013 IPC Powerlifting Asian Open Championships will take place from 3-7 November in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The competition will take place at Kuala Lumpur’s Titiwangsa Stadium and is expected to draw nearly 150 athletes from around 20 countries. It is being hosted by the Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) and the Malaysian Powerlifting Para-Association.

Jon Amos, Chairperson of the IPC Powerlifting Sport Technical Committee, said: “After the city hosted a very exciting and successful IPC Powerlifting World Championships in 2010, it is great to see it embrace yet another major competition for the sport of powerlifting once again. We are anticipating an outstanding event and look forward to seeing many new world and regional records being broken.

“For many athletes, these Championships will be a vital opportunity to attain the necessary Minimum Qualifying Standard (MQS) required to enter the 2014 IPC Powerlifting World Championships to be held in Dubai.”

The Championships were originally scheduled to take place in Gwangju, South Korea in July, but the event was cancelled after the local organising committee had to pull out due to unforeseen circumstances.

Those athletes competing in the Championships will have the opportunity to achieve the Minimum Qualifying Standard (MQS) for the 2014 IPC Powerlifting World Championships, which will take place next year from 5-11 April in Dubai, UAE.

Kassim Abdul Rahman, Chairman of the local organising committee for the event, said: “These Championships are a platform for all IPC Powerlifting athletes to prove their capabilities and make way for themselves to qualify for the IPC Powerlifting World Championships next year.

“I hope that all athletes participating will be able to have good performances, achieve good results, and finally qualify to participate in the World Championships. These Championships are not only a competition in itself, but also provide a setting in which athletes and officials can gather to strengthen the sport of IPC Powerlifting.”

Kuala Lumpur played host to the last IPC Powerlifting World Championships in 2010, which featured 292 athletes from 49 countries. At those Championships, Iran’s Siamand Rahman, Egypt’s Sherief Othman and France’s Souhad Ghazouani all broke world records on their way to the top of the podium.

The 2013 IPC Powerlifting Asian Open Championships will be the second major regional event this year, as the Open European Championships were already held in May in Aleksin, Russia, drawing nearly 140 athletes from 25 countries.

Athletes have until 6 September to enter the 2013 IPC Powerlifting Asian Open Championships and can do so via their National Paralympic Committee.

For more information on IPC Powerlifting, please visit www.ipc-powerlifting.org or check out the sport on Facebook and on Twitter at @IPCPowerlifting.