Dubai: Jordan topped the medals standings in the Seniors category of the 8th Fazza World Para Powerlifting World Cup Dubai 2017, with five gold medals and a silver with a double triumph on the final day of competition on Friday at the Dubai Club for the Disabled.
European powerhouse Ukraine finished in second position with four gold, one silver and three bronze medals while the Netherlands and China were tied for third with two gold medals each in the Senior Men’s and Women’s category.
Kazakhstan were the leading country in the Juniors (men and women) category securing two gold and one silver medal, followed by Egypt (two gold) and Malaysia (one gold and one silver). UAE also won a bronze medal in the Junior Men’s category.
The World Cup was organised and supervised by the Dubai Club for the Disabled with the support of their strategic partners Dubai Sports Council, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare (GAYSW), and the UAE Paralympic Committee with the participation of 194 athletes from 33 countries.
Paralympic silver medallist Tharwh Tayseer Hamdan Al Hajaj of Jordan snatched victory in the Women’s up to 86kg with one good lift of 115kg. It was her first World Cup win in Dubai after finishing second twice before.
Australian debutant Christine Ashcroft (60kg) overcame the more experienced Malaysian Noormyra Azni Rosli (45kg) for silver.
Al Hajaj’s compatriot Jamil El Shebli, a World Championships shot put podium finisher and Paralympic powerlifting bronze medallist, triumphed in the Senior Men’s over 107kg event to secure the fifth gold medal for Jordan with his opening lift of 225kg.
“Finally I managed to win a gold medal in Dubai after getting two bronze medals in my last two attempts. This will spur me on to achieve greater heights in the future and gives me confidence to go for gold in the upcoming World Championships in Mexico,” said Jamil.
The eighth of the Fazza World Para Powerlifting World Cup Dubai concluded with a colourful closing ceremony portraying the culture and traditions of the UAE.
Jon Amos, Chairman of the IPC Powerlifting Committee, was not surprised by the dominance of regional countries like Jordan in this World Cup.
“Asia is the biggest region for powerlifting. We expect if not anticipate Asia to be the dominant team. We want the Asian countries or continent to be as strong as Europe. When I was lifting many years ago we were one of the biggest continents. Americas is growing as well. So we are in an exciting place,” he said.
“The fact that Dubai Club (for the Disabled) has a vision of development for the sport fits to our jigsaw. We have numbers here (World Cup) which used to be close to world championships where it has doubled in number to 500 maybe,” he said.
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