World Cup 2024: Degtyarev, Gustin among Paralympic champions keen to showcase talent

Following stages in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, the Para Powerlifting World Cup is arriving in Pattaya for the third event of the season from 8 to 11 May.

A total of 149 athletes from 31 countries will be competing for points on the world ranking as they aim to qualify for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Competing on home ground, Thailand will field the largest team in the World Cup with 21 athletes. Malaysia follow closely with 15 athletes, and Kazakhstan are third with 13.

Stars on the line-up

Some of the best Para powerlifters of the world will be competing in Pattaya 2024 - including eight medallists from Tokyo 2020, two current world record holders, and two world ranking leaders in 2024.

Kazakhstan's David Degtyarev (men’s up to 54kg), Malaysian superstar Bonnie Bunyau Gustin (men’s up to 72kg) and Mongolia's seasoned star Sodnompiljee Enkhbayar (men’s up to 107kg), who won gold medals in the Tokyo 2020 Games, are among the favourites in their categories.

Leading the world ranking in the men’s up to 59kg category in the 2024 season, Iraq's Mustafa Radhi lifted 200kg to earn the gold medal in the last edition of the World Cup in Egypt and will strive for a repeat performance in Thailand.

Bunyau Gustin, the current world record holder and leader of the world ranking in the men’s up to 72kg category, set the world’s best mark of 231kg back in 2023 and clinched gold in Dubai’s World Cup this year by lifting 218kg.

Another world record holder competing in Pattaya is Le Van Cong. The Vietnamese athlete, also the reigning world champion, set the best mark for the men’s up to 49kg back in 2017 by lifting 183.5kg in Mexico.

In women's events, Indonesia's women trio of double Paralympic medallist Ni Nengah Widiasih (women's up to 41kg), Asian Para Games medallists Siti Mahmudah (women’s up to 79 kg) and Sriyanti (women’s +86 kg) should finish on top of their respective categories while Kazakhstan's Asian Para Games medallists Tursynay Kabyl (women's up to 49kg) and Raushan Koishibayeva (women's up to 73kg) should be among the mix.

For the home crowd, Kamolpan Kraratpet will aim for a medal-winning show in women's up to 55 kg which will also have Vietnam's Phuong Dang Thi Linh putting up a challenge.

After Pattaya, the World Cup has two more events scheduled before the Paralympic Games in Paris: One in Acapulco, Mexico from 23 to 26 May and the other in Tbilisi, Georgia from 20 to 26 June.

Where to watch?

The Pattaya 2024 Para Powerlifting World Cup will be streamed live on World Para Powerlifting Facebook channel and Local Organising Committee YouTube channel.