Malaysia’s Paralympic champion Bonnie Bunyau Gustin will soon have a company in the men’s up to 72kg category as a new star was born at the World Para Powerlifting Championships at the Rookie & Next Gen World Championships in Cairo.
Akmal Mohamad Supi displayed courage and determination to win the men’s up to 72kg rookie category with a world record effort. The 17-year-old from Perak state in Malaysia, grabbed the gold with a lift of 167kg in his second attempt.
“I’m happy and excited. It was my first international competition, and I was nervous too. I have been working hard but plan to put in more hours in training to prepare for upcoming important events,” said Mohamad Supi, who idolises Powerlifting giants Gustin and Abdelkareem Khattab.
“I want to qualify for the LA2028 Games,” he added.
The championships saw Uzbekistan leading the medals standings with 13 gold followed by Armenia and I.R. Iran with four top places. Hosts Egypt finished the junior events on three gold medals.
Seventeen-year-old Atiyehsadat Hosseini made history winning Iran’s first-ever women’s gold, triumphing in the women’s up to 61kg category.
“I’m so happy and proud to get the gold here,” said Hosseini who grabbed the gold with her second attempt of 90kg.
The Iranian men followed the suit too with several gold medals on the day in both Rookie & Next Gen category. Many Saeedi clinched the gold medal in men’s up to 88kg category (Next Gen) in style. The 19-year-old began his campaign setting a new world record with 166kg before bettering it with 172kg on his second attempt.
Reza Enayatollahi celebrated his 18th birthday in advance, clinching the men’s up to 97kg category with a new Next Gen world record of 195kg in his second attempt.
“I worked hard for 11 years for this result. I believe the key to success is hard work and listening to your coach,” said Enayatollahi who aims for a medal at Paralympic Games.
Powerhouse Uzbekistan also continued their good run at Cairo 2025 clinching five gold medals on the final day of the Rookie & Next Gen World Championships.
Jasurbek Yuldoshov proved once again why the nation is among the best in sport as the 19-year-old won his second World Championship gold medal breaking the world record twice.
Starting with a powerful 175kg, he broke the Next Gen world record with a successful lift of 181kg before going for 185kg – a new record. The athlete, who has been training for past seven years, came back for the powerlift only to set a new record at 190kg.
“Powerlifting has brought positive impact in my life. I love to be competitive and be a champion,” sid a proud Yuldoshov.
Earlier, Paralympian Rukhshona Uktamova began the day with a golden note for Uzbekistan. The Dubai 2023 Worlds rookie champion convincingly won the women’s up to 67kg with a 119kg lift in her third attempt which was also a new world record.
It will be exciting to see if she can repeat it in the Elite Championships.
Gulyuz Nematullaeva’s debut campaign at the Worlds was highlight of the Uzbekistan team too.
The 19-year-old broke the world record for Next Gen twice, first at 105kg and then going for a successful 110kg in her fourth (Powerlift) attempt – enough to take gold in the women’s up to 73kg category. “I’m very happy and excited. I believe that we should always strive for excellence. Today, I achieved one of my goals,” said Nematullaeva who has a gold from World Ability Games 2024.
USA too made their first presence at the medals thanks to the golden efforts of Brett Forbes who lifted 170kg to win the men’s over 107kg category.
