Rio 2016 preview: powerlifting men’s up to 49kg

Less than two years after winning gold in the men’s up to 48kg on his Paralympic debut at London 2012, Nigeria’s Yakubu Adesokan won his inaugural world title in 2014 with a new world record.

That was in the new weight category of the men’s up to 49kg, after changes were made in 2013.

His lift of 181kg put his competitors in the shade, including Vietnam’s van Cong Le who took away silver with a best of 180kg.

Since then, Le and Adesokan have met once. At the 2015 IPC Powerlifting Asian Open Championships it was Le who had the upper hand, needing just one lift of 177kg to win gold.

But he did not stop there. He went for broke with a fourth lift of 182kg, adding 1kg onto Adesokan’s world record.

Jordan’s Omar Sami Hamadeh Qarada is another face to watch. He is ranked third in the Paralympic rankings behind Le and Adesokan based on a 176kg result from the IPC Powerlifting World Cup in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in February 2016.

Fans can expect to see a particularly close competition between Adesokan and Le, where the Vietnamese powerlifter will aim to emulate his Nigerian rival’s Paralympic debut with his own impressive performance.

You can catch the men’s up to 49kg on 8 September, the opening day of competition at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. All Para powerlifting events will be contested at the Riocentro – Pavilion 2.

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Sport fans from around the world can now buy their Paralympic tickets for Rio 2016 from authorised ticket resellers (ATRs)

The IPC’s Global ATR is Jet Set Sports, and Rio 2016 tickets and packages can be purchased on the CoSport website.

Residents of Brazil can buy 2016 Paralympics tickets directly from the Rio 2016 website.

Visa International is the exclusive payment card and the official payment system for the Paralympic Games.