Tbilisi 2021: Favourites crowned on day two

The favourites produced the goods as another two crowns were dished out on Monday (29 November) at the Tbilisi 2021 World Championships. 

Monday’s mission for David Degtyarev of Kazakhstan, was to add world champion to his resume. 

After a golden Paralympic performance in Tokyo, Degtyarev entered the competition as the hot favourite in the men’s up to 54kg category. 

With a solid lift of 178kg, 4kg heavier than his winning lift at the Games, the Asian record holder found himself at the top of the podium.

“I am very happy”, said Degtyarev. “Thank you to all of my team, coaches and family.”

It was a six-way battle for silver and bronze heading into the final round but only Jinglang Yang of China recorded a successful lift. 

His cool-headedness earned him the silver medal (172kg) and his best championships result to date. 

Egypt’s Taha Abdelmajid returned to the podium for the first time since 2010, lifting 161kg to secure another World Championships bronze medal. 

Six years at the top 

The second and final competition of the day saw the women battle it out in the up to 50kg category. 

The podium was topped with a familiar face as the reigning African champion, Rehab Ahmed from Egypt, continued her domination with a third consecutive world title. 

“Today I promised myself to get a gold medal”, said Ahmed who settled for silver at the Tokyo Games just three months earlier. 

Ahmed’s opening lift of 115kg proved to be her best of the day and an amount that no one could catch. 

Great Britain’s Olivia Broome found herself on the podium for the second time in three days. 

Broome showed that her junior world record of 107kg set on Saturday was not just a fluke, as the Brit pressed the same amount to seal silver. 

It was a step up on the podium for Broome as she bettered her bronze medal performance from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. 

It was in Tokyo that the Brit edged out Ukraine’s Lidiia Soloviova by one kilogram but in Tbilisi, Soloviova was determined to not miss out on the medals as she powered her way to 105kg to award her the bronze. 

Continental celebrations for Scholl 

Australia’s Kaia Scholl also made headlines ahead of the Group A final, as she lifted her way to a new Oceania record. 

The Aussie recorded 68kg in Group C and had this to say of her achievement: 

“It feels amazing, just mind blowing. It’s still processing though”. 

Scholl commented on her fellow competitors and athletes at the Championships.

“You can see how far you can go by watching everybody else and I think the sky's the limit.”

The World Championships continues on Tuesday (30) with the men’s up to 59kg followed by the women’s up to 55kg and 61kg.

The Tbilisi 2021 World Para Powerlifting Championships will be livestreamed on the World Para Powerlifting website and Facebook page.

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