Salimi, Rostami top weightlifting world ranking

TEHRAN, Nov. 17 (MNA) – As Iran stands 7th in 81st World Weightlifting Championships in Almaty, Behdad Salimi and Kianoush Rostami top their classes in world rankings. China won the cup with 548 points and Kazakhstan and Russia followed with 453 and 440 points, respectively. Iran’s much-vaunted national squad’s performance was rather mediocre, falling short of high expectations by the public and the sport authorities alike, coming 7th with 367 points after North Korea, Belorussia, and even Egypt, which would not lay strong claims on medals in international tournaments. For Iran, Kianoush Rostami won the gold medal in 85kg Class with total of 391kg, to be named the Best Weightlifter of 85kg Class of the world. In super-heavyweight class, Behdad Salimi did not live to expectations, coming only second to Russian Ruslan Albegov; however, he was ranked by the International Weightlifting Federation as the Strongest Man of the Year with a total of 465Kg, which Salimi set in Incheon 2014 Asian Games and outclassed Albegov’s 462Kg in Almaty. In medal count, Iran stood in 5th place with two golds, 3 silvers, and a single bronze medal behind North Korea, Kazakhstan, China and Russia. In team ranking, Iran came 6th with 119 points, securing half of its place for Olympic competitions. In a related story, Hamed Behdad, Iran’s super-heavyweight lifter criticized the authorities as expecting the athletes to create magic in the platform, wining colorful medals; however, showing only tepid reactions in terms of supporting and lending due respect and prestige to national medal winner champions.