Paralympics: Para powerlifting day five preview

Heavyweight categories take centre stage to close off the Tokyo 2020 competition programme at the Tokyo International Forum on 30 August 23 Aug 2021
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A woman celebrating on a bench press during a Para powerlifting event with four male loaders standing near her
Folashade Oluwafemiayo celebrating after breaking the women's up to 86kg world record at the Manchester World Cup in March
ⒸAlex Pantling/Getty Images
By World Para Powerlifting

Heavyweight champions will take the centre stage on the final day of the Para powerlifting competitions at the Paralympic Games on Monday 30 August at the Tokyo International Forum.

Here is all that you need to know about the Tokyo 2020 Para powerlifting day five.

The men’s up to 107kg event will open the final day’s action with Mongolia’s Para powerlifting star Enkhbayar Sodnompiljee standing as the title favourite. 

Sodnompiljee is a Nur-Sultan 2019 World Championships gold medallist and Rio 2016 Paralympic bronze medallist. He would be keen to repeat his Nur-Sultan 2019 gold medal show in Tokyo.

Sodnompiljee is expected to face a strong challenge from Mexican Jose De Jesus Castillo, who is a world champion at the home Mexico City 2017 Worlds. He is also a gold medallist at the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games. 

Meanwhile, Iran’s Saman Razi would be trying hard to get a medal in Tokyo after his Indonesia 2018 Asian Para Games bronze medal performance.

The second event of the day, the women’s up to 86kg final is expected to witness some record-breaking performances. 

Nigeria’s Folashade Oluwafemiayo would be ready to put up a show after smashing the world record at the Manchester World Para Powerlifting World Cup in March. 

Folashade is a Nur-Sultan 2019 and Mexico City 2017 World Championships gold medallist.

Her main rival would be China’s Zheng Feifei, a two-time silver medallist at the World Championships and gold medallist at the Asian Para Games in 2018. 

Among others to watch out for in the women’s up to 86kg event are Egypt’s Amany Ali, Jordan’s Tharwat Alhajjaj, both Rio 2016 medallists; and Lee Young-sun of South Korea, who is the Indonesia 2018 Asian Para Games silver medallist.

Evening Session 

The women’s over 86kg final will be one of the highlights of the final day with an exciting contest on the cards. A showdown is expected between Nigeria’s Loveline Obiji and Egypt’s Randa Mahmoud, in a repeat of the London 2012 Paralympics where the former took the gold medal.

Obiji is also a two-time World Championships silver medallist, while Mahmoud is the gold medallist at the Rio 2016 Games and the Mexico City 2017 Worlds.

China’s Deng Xuemei, the Nur-Sultan 2019 Worlds gold medallist, should also be keen to step up their game as do regional champions Perla Barcenas from Mexico and South Korea’s Lee Hyung Jun. 

Barcenas is the current Lima 2019 Parapan American Games champion while Hyung Jun is the Asian Para Games 2018 gold medallist.

The last event of the Para powerlifting competition programme in Tokyo is the men’s over 107kg, which is going to miss their favourite star and sport legend Siamand Rahman

The Iranian passed away with a cardiac arrest in March 2020. Rahman is still the world record holder in the men’s over 107kg with a lift of 310kg that gave him Paralympic gold at Rio 2016. 

In Rahman’s absence, Iran will bank on Pourmirzaei Mansour, who is a three-time Worlds silver medallist, for the top honours. 

The task will not be easy as Egypt’s Amr Mosaad and Jordan’s Jamil Elshebli, the Rio 2016 silver and bronze medallist respectively, will look to produce powerful performances.

London 2012 medallists Faris Al Ageeli from Iraq and Chun Keun-bae of South Korea will also be keen to produce medal-winning efforts.

Complete results, records and medallists from Tokyo 2020 will be available on Paralympic.org.

Following the Paralympic Games, the world’s best Para powerlifters will be back in action at the World Championships from 27 November to 5 December in Batumi, Georgia.