The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championship will kick off Thursday in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and will continue until 10 November.
This tournament will witness the return of great weightlifters and the countries that were suspended in previous competitions.
Egypt will participate in the tournament with five players, including Sara Samir in the women’s 71kg weight class; Shaimaa Khalaf in the +87 kg weight class; Moustafa Wahid in the 73 kg weight clas;, Mohamed Ehab in the 81 kg weight class, and Ahmed Ashour in the 89 kg weight class.
The Egyptian national team will enter this competition under the leadership of coach Mohamed Mousa al-Deeb, and will be assisted by Mohamed Hosny. The Egyptian mission will be headed by Moustafa Al-Lozy, member of the Egyptian Weightlifting Federation’s board of directors.
The Egyptian team aims to achieve good results in this competition, especially as it is one of the world championships qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Egypt won six medals in the 2017 IWF World Championship held in the US, including four golds, one silver, and one bronze.
In the US, Mohamed Ehab, winner of a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, won three gold medals. He lifted 165kg in the snatch and 196kg in the clean and jerk to achieve a total of 361kg. He won two medals for the snatch and clean and jerk contests and one for the overall result. Also, Sara Samir won the 69 kg clean and jerk gold medal, while Shaimaa Khalaf won silver and bronze in the +90 kg weight class.
Samir was the first Egyptian woman to win an Olympic medal in the country’s 104-year history at the game.
