Dubai: Jordan’s Abdelkareem Khattab continued his world record breaking spree in Dubai as he improved his own world record by one kilo on his way winning his second World Championships at the Hilton Dubai Al Habtoor city.
Khattab, the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champion, put up a confident show on the bench to set a new mark in Dubai yet again, this time with 251kg in the men’s up to 88kg — a category he had picked up his last Paralympic and World titles.
At the last World Cup in Dubai, Khattab broke the world record thrice in men’s up to 97kg before taking the gold medal at 255kg.
On Tuesday, Khattab started with 230kg to finish with a new world record of 251kg. He tried to improve it further in his fourth (Powerlift) but was unsuccessful.
“I am filled with immense joy on setting a new world record in the World Powerlifting Championship, which I consider to be one of my best shows, even surpassing the Paralympics,” said Khattab who held the earlier world record from Tbilisi 2021 Worlds.
“I attribute all my success to God.”
“Whenever I achieve a new number, I write it on a board in front of my bench when I train, and I try to break it in the next championship,” he added.
The Jordanian star was followed by China’s Ye Jixiong and Egypt’s Mohamed Elelfat who finished on 234kg and 222kg respectively.
Gold for Iran’s Rostami
The final day of individual competitions also witnessed Iran’s Roohallah Rostami winning his Worlds title after four years.
Rostami, the world champion in Nursultan 2019, later said that he had to overcome a shoulder pain to take the gold with a successful third attempt of 232kg.
China’s Gu Xiaofei, the Tbilisi 2021 champion, finished second on 231kg while Iraq’s Rasool Mohsin (226kg) claimed his first Worlds medal in 13 years.
“I am so happy to win the gold at these championships, despite I had some issues in my shoulder. I had a good feeling during the competition. And I believe with proper medication, I will come back even stronger in Hangzhou 2022, which is my next goal,” said Rostami promising to win the gold in the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
The Iranian still holds the world record in the category at 241kg set in Bangkok 2021.
In the Elite medals table, China finished with 30 medals including eight silver and six bronze medals, followed by Nigeria and Iran with four gold each. Hosts UAE has one silver in the elite competitions.
