IWF Refugee Team: ready for great performances in Manama!

After its creation in 2023, the IWF Refugee Team will be represented by four athletes in the upcoming IWF World Championships, starting this Friday in Manama (BRN). The group arrived in Bahrain’s capital one week ago for a training camp in the facilities that will be used for the IWF showcase. Coached by Aveenash Pandoo, Yekta Jamali (W81), Ramiro Mora (M96), Aline de Souza (W55) and Addriel Garcia (M81) are ready to shine and hopefully improve their personal bests.

“The preparation is going very well and they all look very strong. Taking part in this important competition, the World Championships, is a huge inspiration for them. None of the four athletes present here have injuries, so everything is set for good performances,” considers Aveenash, supervising the team’s training today in Manama.

Addriel Garcia (right) training today in Manama

The first participation of the Refugee Team in an IWF event occurred in September 2023, at the World Championships in Riyadh. “Back then, we had many challenges with the visas and only two lifters could travel to Saudi Arabia – Aline and Monique Araujo. Here, with the immense help of the local authorities, led by the chair of the Bahrain Weightlifting Federation Eshaq Ebrahim Eshaq, we managed to overcome that problem. I also thank Florian Sperl, IWF EB Member and director of our project, the IWF staff, and our physiotherapist Hussein Settawi,” explains the coach. Araujo is the only absent for the 2024 edition of the event, after suffering from an injury in the last months.

Reflecting on the importance of the training camp in Manama, Aveenash is clear: “If you look at the dynamics of the Refugee Team, we are all located in different countries and parts of the world, so being together well in advance before the World Championships and being able to train in these amazing facilities, this is hugely positive. It was also for me a privilege, as a coach, to see them and co-ordinate the last stage of their preparation before the event”.

Ramiro Mora at the Paris 2024 Olympics

From the group of four athletes in Bahrain, Jamali and Mora have also Olympic experience, after being part of the Olympic Refugee Team at the Paris 2024 Games. In the women’s 81kg, the Iranian native did a personal best of 103-128-231 (ninth place) and less than two months later at the IWF World Junior Championships in Leon (ESP) she did the same total (104-127) and got the bronze medal. Born in 2004, this is her last appearance as a junior athlete. For Bahrain, she has an entry total of 240kg.

Mora did slightly best in the French capital lifting 166-210-376 (seventh place) in the men’s 102kg. Originally from Cuba, he is changing the bodyweight category in Manama, but is clearly aiming for a podium presence. “I will try to go for a medal and approach the 380kg in total, but the competition is very strong. I am competing in Group B and my best chances are in clean and jerk – I did 205kg last week in training and I think the medal will be between 205 and 215kg,” confesses Mora.

Aline de Souza lifting at the 2023 IWF Worlds

“I would like to thank the IWF for allowing us to be here in this training camp. It has been really important for us. We took maximum advantage of this facility. We are lifting the weight that we potentially target during the competition,” he adds. In Paris, Mora’s total was already an 11kg improvement from his previous personal best.

“Since the Olympics, the preparation has been great – I was training primarily in England, but I was able to compete in some events in Germany too. Coming from Paris, I had a three-week break, after a very intense year. But since then, I recovered quite well. After this event in Bahrain, I will focus on the Europeans in 2025”, Mora continues. “The spirit of this team is very good. The coach is also fantastic, always ready to assist us. We have a good communication between us and we are constantly helping each other,” he concludes.

The IWF Refugee Team, with coach Aveenash Pandoo (seated) and physio Hussein Settawi (on far right)

Aline de Souza was officially the first-ever refugee athlete to lift at an IWF event, last year in Riyadh. Back then, she did 82-100-182 in the women’s 55kg, but she hopes to improve in Bahrain (she entered with a total of 185kg). “We have a lot of support and the level of preparation is excellent. The expectation is always to make better and improve the performances we did last year. We are all very optimistic about a good result – I personally also believe that I can do a good competition,” the Brazilian native admits.

Yekta Jamali at this year’s Olympics

As a refugee, Addriel Garcia will also have its first IWF competition in Bahrain. But until 2019, he competed under the Cuban flag and his best result at international level is a 155-185-340 in 2016.

“They are all relatively young, so their presence here has a great meaning for their competitive future. It’s a fantastic team, with a great camaraderie spirit. They all fit very well together. Ramiro and Yekta are perhaps the two most experienced athletes here. They bring a lot of enthusiasm and encouragement to the team, which is very good,” Aveenash considers.

“I’ve been coaching for more than 20 years and I am pretty confident. Moreover, the facilities here are of Olympic Games level, so even for that we have all the conditions to shine,” he concludes.

Pedro Adrega
IWF Communications