Asian Youth and Junior Champs: Iran, India and Vietnam look to future as world’s strongest weightlifting continent ends year on a high

Iran, Vietnam and India were among the nations that prospered at the Asian Youth and Junior Championships in Qatar, collectively winning more than 120 medals.

The Championships, which ended on December 26, featured seven age-group world records and brought to a close a memorable year for the world’s strongest weightlifting continent.

When Shahzadbek Matyakubov from Turkmenistan claimed two more junior world records with his final lift at 102kg he took the tally of youth, junior and senior world records set by Asian weightlifters in 2024 to 65. Of those records, 37 were by women and 28 by men. The rest of the world mustered 21 between them for both genders.

Shahzadbek Matyakubov (TKM)

At the IWF World Championships in Bahrain in early December, PRK and China led the way as Asian athletes took more than 80 per cent of the medals. China unearthed an array of new talent, sending a largely junior team which came home with plenty of medals and senior world records.

The average age of PRK’s 17 medal winners in Bahrain was under 23. PRK and China – with help from a strong Kazakhstan team – sent a clear message in Bahrain that the next generation of Asian talent is on the way.

In the absence of PRK and China, neither of which sent a team, that message was underlined in Qatar by athletes from Iran, India, Vietnam, Turkmenistan, Chinese Taipei, Iraq, Thailand, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

The best session of the Championships was that men’s 102kg, in which gold and silver medallists both broke junior world records and finished first and second in the individual rankings.

Matyakubov held off a strong challenge by Alireza Nasiri from Iran. In September, 20-year-old Matyakubov won the junior world title in Spain with a 391kg total. He bombed out in clean and jerk in Bahrain when well placed to win a medal, then returned to form two weeks later with a six-from-six 177-219-396.

Alireza Nasiri (IRI)

Nasiri made five of his attempts, taking Matyakubov’s junior world records in clean and jerk and total when he finished 171-218-389. Those records lasted about a minute before Matyakubov took them back again. Nasiri, 19, was sixth in Bahrain despite making only two good lifts.

Iran’s other top performers included Ilya Salehipour and World Juniors silver medallist Alireza Abbaspoor, who finished second and third behind Alexey Churkin from Kazakhstan at 89kg. Churkin, who weighed only 81.88kg, made 163-197-360, while Salehipour totalled 356kg and Abbaspoor 355kg.

Abolfazi Zare, 18, won at 102kg on 366kg, and Iran also won at 109kg when Arlya Paydar totalled 380kg. Haniyeh Sharifi, 17, won the youth women’s 71kg on 88-112-200. Iran won eight women’s medals in the Youths Championships.

Having won 10 medals at the senior World Championships in Bahrain, where super-heavyweight Alireza Yousefi was one of the star performers, Iran earned top place in the men’s and combined team classification for juniors in Qatar.

“Our investment has been fruitful,” the Iran Federation president Sajjad Anoushiravani told local media. “We sent young weightlifters to Bahrain and I am satisfied with what they did.

“Our athletes shone in Qatar and so many female weightlifters won medals. The Asian Youth and Junior competition is a crucial step in their journey toward future Olympic dreams. I see a bright future ahead for weightlifting in Iran.”  

Vietnam’s Department of Sport and Physical Exercise announced this month that weightlifting would benefit from special funding for development and coaching. The team’s efforts in Qatar showed why the authorities are keen to support the sport on the pathway to Los Angeles 2028.

K Duong (VIE)

Vietnam dominated the lighter men’s categories, winning at 55kg, 61kg and 67kg. K Duong claimed a sweep of youth world records in stretching his unbeaten run to six since he first appeared in international competition in 2022.

The 17-year-old made 116-146-262, up 9kg on his previous best, to finish ahead of team-mate Do Tu Tung. Another 17-year-old, A Tieu, won youth and junior titles at 61kg on 122-149-271, while the 67kg junior title went to Tran Minh Tri on 141-171-312. With two gold medals for its women, Vietnam finished top of the overall medals table.

Other leading men’s performers included Ali Ammar Yusur from Iraq, who became the first junior super-heavyweight to total 450kg-plus in Bahrain. This time Ali Ammar needed only his openers on 180-226 to secure victory, declining his other four attempts.

Chen Guan-Ling from Chinese Taipei was rated top individual women’s junior performer by more than 200 Robi points. Chen has set four junior world records at 55kg since September, and it would have been more if she had not failed with her final snatch attempt at 99kg.

Chen Guan-Ling (TPE)

The junior world champion, who was second in Bahrain, finished 94-120-214, a better total than the 59kg and 64kg winners.

Thailand had three of the top 10 women in the individual rankings – the 45kg winner Khemika Kamnoesdsri on 74-90-164, 59kg champion Thanaporn Saetia on 96-115-211, and Natcha Kaewnoi, who was 22kg behind Chen in third place at 55kg.

Akzhol Kurmanbek from Kazakhstan set youth world records in clean and jerk and total at 73kg, making 142-174-316. Another youth champion in top form was Bekzod Gofirjonov from Uzbekistan, whose 194kg clean and jerk was a youth world record at 89kg. He totalled 348kg.

Jyoshna Sabar from India was ranked top individual female youth after matching the world standard total at 40kg. Sabar, 16, made 60-75-135.

India won 33 medals across the age groups. Of 24 lifters in the team, 22 were Khelo Indian Athletes – youngsters selected for a government-backed sport scheme. They are funded and train at accredited academies.

Asian athletes will have chances to set even more world records before the new weight categories begin from June. The IWF Youth and Junior World Championships are held concurrently in Lima, Peru from April 30-May 5, and the senior Asian Championships are in Jiangshan, China from May 9-15.

By Brian Oliver