Tbilisi 2021: Day two preview

Day two of the World Championships in the Georgian capital will feature two events, one in both men's and women's competition 28 Nov 2021

A man walking with his arms raised and a smile on his face while his coach taps him on the back.

Greece's Dimitrios Bakochristos is aiming for his second international medal this year after finishing third at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

ⒸHiroki Nishioka/WPPO

By World Para Powerlifting

The Tbilisi 2021 World Para Powerlifting Championships continues on Monday (29 November) with two categories in the competition programme in the Georgian capital.

First up is the men's up to 54kg category starting at 10:00 am (local time), with the women's up to 50kg category taking on the centre stage from 15:00 (local time).

Morning session

The men's up to 54kg category will be packed with Para powerlifting greats competing in three groups. Kazakhstan's David Degtyarev is coming to Tbilisi as the favourite for gold after a stunning performance at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games where he took first place.

The 24-year-old Kazakh is still waiting to win a medal at the World Championships having finished fifth and seventh at Nur-Sultan 2019 and Mexico City 2017, respectively.

His main rivals for gold in Tbilisi will be France’s Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Axel Bourlon and Greece’s two-time Paralympic bronze medallist Dimitrios Bakochristos.

Axel Bourlon, vice-champion paralympique : "Un sport peut permettre de vous épanouir et de vivre des moments comme je vis aujourd'hui par rapport aux Paralympiques. Ca ne peut que vous rendre fier, vous et votre entourage" 🏋️ #PassSport ➡️ https://t.co/O7TdM3GZKQ pic.twitter.com/zwN2oyckap
— Ministère des Sports 🇫🇷 (@Sports_gouv) September 17, 2021

The 38-year-old athlete from Ioannina also took a bronze medal at the Nur-Sultan 2019 Worlds.

Egyptian Leopard Taha Abdelmajid is another name to watch out for in the men’s up to 54kg category. He is the London 2012 Paralympic bronze medallist who will be looking to wash out the disappointment of finishing fourth at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

Arold Sheka Kamara of Sierra Leone will be in action in the category as well. He will be the first-ever Para powerlifter from the African country to compete in the World Championships.

Afternoon session

Women’s up to 50kg category will also feature three groups of athletes in the only event taking place in the afternoon session.

Another Egyptian Rehab Ahmed should play an important role as the reigning world champion and two-time Paralympic silver medallist. Her biggest rival, China’s Paralympic champion Hu Dandan will not compete in Tbilisi.

The day 2 ended with another gold 🥇 for Egypt 🇪🇬 as Rehab Ahmed lifted 114kg to finish ahead of China’s HU Dandan (113kg) and Ukraine's Lidiia Soloviova (111kg). #ParaPowerlifting #NurSultan2019 pic.twitter.com/hgPSBqO1D9
— #ParaPowerlifting (@Powerlifting) July 14, 2019

Nevertheless, Ahmed should expect a tough challenge against Ukraine’s Lidiia Soloviova and Great Britain’s Olivia Broome.

The 43-year-old Soloviova is the Rio 2016 Paralympic champion, while Broome finished on the Paralympic podium in Tokyo for the first time in her young career taking bronze in front of Soloviova.

Broome will be competing for the second time in three days after winning gold in the Junior Worlds on Saturday.

The Tbilisi 2021 World Para Powerlifting Championships is live streamed on the World Para Powerlifting website and the World Para Powerlifting Facebook page.

Complete schedule and results are available at the Tbilisi 2021 microsite.