Ismailia, Day 4: Photo Gallery
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Ismailia, Day 4: World records on a big day for Egypt and China – and B Group medals for Albania
Host nation Egypt had its first champion of the week, China won again and athletes from both nations claimed world records at the IWF World Junior Championships in Ismailia. Albania was on the podium from the B Group in a high-quality women’s 69kg session in which Lin Jingwei set world records in clean and jerk and total. Lin was one of four lifters who set continental junior records. Hussein Metwally Abdelrahman (EGY) Egypt had two heroes in the men’s 79kg. Hussein Metwally Abdelrahman was a world champion for the third straight year, having won twice as a Youth at 67kg and 73kg. Up in weight and well prepared, he put 35kg on his previous best international total in making 153-188-341. Ali Abdelradi, third in snatch and fifth on total, earned huge cheers when he made 182kg on his second clean and jerk to complete a sweep of youth world records. Abdelradi, 17, then cleaned 187kg but could not complete the lift and finished 151-182-333, which was 6kg higher than the world standard. His only previous international competition was the Qatar Cup in December, a non-IWF event this time. Narek Mkrtchyan (ARM) Narek Mkrtchyan from Armenia was second on 150-186-336 and Didarbek Jumabayev from Turkmenistan third on 148-187-335. Bobumirzo Yokubov from Uzbekistan took snatch silver on 152kg before dropping to sixth overall. Lin became China’s sixth winner when she made all six lifts for 107-138-245. Like last year, when she was Youth world champion at 71kg, she set two world records with her final attempt. “I had never even tried 138 before,” said Lin, who started weightlifting at primary school aged eight. “My performance was better than I expected. My next ambition is to perform well in my first senior World Championships (in China) later this year.” Lin Jingwei (CHN) Claudia Rengifo from Venezuela - a Youth world champion in 2024 - won snatch gold in making an impressive 108-131-239 in second place. She took the Pan American junior record in clean and jerk and would have had the record on total, too, if she had not failed with her final attempt on 134kg. Rengifo competed 12 times in less than three years after her international debut in 2022, but today she was on the platform for the first time in more than a year. She made her best total by 10kg, and was down 2kg in weight category. There was another encouraging performance from the bronze medallist Enkileda Carja from Albania, who lifted in the B Group. She set a European junior record on total in making 104-125-229, a 3kg improvement on her effort at the senior European Championships last month, when she also opted for the B Group. “I was in the B Group because a few weeks ago I wasn’t in the best emotional shape, and I knew I would have a better chance to control my emotions in the competition if I was in B,” said Carja, who like the other two medallists on total is 18. The women's 69kg podium “I’m very happy with my achievements, which are the result of a lot of hard training. I train in Tirana and I am in my third year of high school, plus I have a part-time job. Every training session is exciting for me. “In the rest of this year I want to compete at the European Juniors, the Mediterranean Games and then the senior World Championships for the first time.” Carja, Youth world champion at 64kg last year, won bronze in clean and jerk and total. She would have had a sweep of third-place finishes but for a remarkable effort by Tugba Nur Koz from Turkiye. Koz, 19, made a 10kg jump to 105kg for her third snatch attempt after failing at 100kg. She had to fight hard to keep control of the bar but did it for a junior European record and finished fourth on total on 224kg. By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio
Ismailia, Day 3: Photo Gallery
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Ismailia, Day 3: ‘I did it for dad’ – from grief to glory for Philippines’ triple world champion Delos Santos
Albert Delos Santos from the Philippines and Thanaporn Saetia from Thailand both won world titles for a third time and China lost its 100 per cent record on a memorable day at the IWF World Junior Championships in Ismailia, Egypt. Delos Santos ran off the platform to hug his mother, Diwa, at the end of the 71kg session. When she produced a photo of her late husband, Delos Santos kissed it and said, “I did it for him! I did it for him!” Albert Delos Santos (PHI) Two months ago Delos Santos lost his father to liver cancer. His grief was so profound he injured himself, and was physically and mentally drained during his preparations for a shot at his third straight world title. “I deviated from my coach’s percentages in training and wanted to do every lift for my dad. It was my way of trying to get over the pain,” he said. “I wore myself out, and two Saturdays ago I injured by back. “I couldn’t even walk for a couple of days. I felt so bad, I was in a deep void. I had only a week to train for this and I was trembling out there, but my dad was with me all the way. This was for him.” There was plenty of time for Delos Santos to fret before his winning lift. After his final snatch of 139kg there were the last few snatches and 27 clean and jerk attempts to come, plus the 10-minute interval, before he was back on the platform. Everybody else had finished. Yash Khandagale (IND) Delos Santos is a clean and jerk specialist who is used to making up ground after the break. He came out to make 175kg to secure the title, then jumped 12kg to better his own clean and jerk junior world record. He even had the bar loaded at 190kg to try for the world record on total, but he failed and finished 17kg clear on 139-187-326. Delos Santos, who will be 20 in August, was Youth champion in 2023 at 61kg and a Junior winner last year at 67kg. After today, his big targets for the year are the Asian Games and the senior World Championships in Japan and China. His coach is Julius Naranjo, husband of the Olympic gold medallist Hidilyn Diaz. His late father, Alvin, and Diwa were both weightlifters and Diwa, who worked alongside Naranjo today, is a national coach. If it was a long delay for Delos Santos between lifts, there was an even longer wait for confirmation of his medals for Yash Khandagale from India. He posted 140-169-309 from the B Group and sat watching the A session in the auditorium. “Yes it was a long wait but very exciting - I’m really happy with that,” he said. Khandagale took silver in snatch, bronze in clean and jerk and silver on total. Jimmy Lopez from Ecuador finished third on total despite being eighth in snatch and fourth in clean and jerk. He made 134-167-301. The men's 71kg podium It was a crowded podium. Narek Grigoryan from Armenia won snatch gold on 144kg before bombing out, fifth-placed Revaz Mildiani from Georgia took snatch bronze on 140-160-300 and Hovhannes Hovhannisyan from Armenia, fourth on total, won silver in clean and jerk on 130-171-301. Thanaporn Saetia (THA) Saetia just failed with a snatch world record attempt when she won the 63kg on 100-125-225, taking a sweep of golds. Like Delos Santos, she won Youth and Junior titles in 2023 and last year, at 64kg then 59kg. Saetia made five from six while Jiang Yanfang from China made four. Jiang, second in last year’s World Juniors at 64kg behind team-mate Yang Liuye, was second again after she missed twice in snatch and finished 95-124-219. The women's 63kg podium Diana Bellorin from Venezuela was third on 92-115-207. Ziyoda Khudoykulova from Uzbekistan took snatch bronze on 93kg and Lidett Miramontes from Venezuela was third in clean and jerk on 115kg. By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio
Ismailia, Day 2: Photo Gallery
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Ismailia, Day 2: Two more titles for China, medal number four for Egypt’s Aly and a good day for Argentina’s female ‘John Wick’
China maintained its 100 per cent record at the IWF World Junior Championships with two more victories in Egypt. That made it five from five in two days in Ismailia, where only one national anthem has been heard so far. There were three world records on the day, one for China in the juniors and one each at youth level for Moldova and Kazakhstan. Egypt had its first medal of the week on total, and there was a colourful group celebration after the women’s 58kg by three Latin American teams who all won medals, Mexico, Argentina and Venezuela. Ye Xinye (CHN) Unfortunately for the Kazakhstan world record athlete, 17-year-old Beibarys Yerseit, he left the platform on a stretcher after injuring his left knee in his first clean and jerk attempt. Both of China’s champions were competing internationally for the first time. Ye Xinye set a snatch world record in making 100-120-220 in the women’s 58kg, and Wang Liqian made 138-164-302 at 65kg. Wang’s team-mate Wan Jinping was second and Elsayed Aly from Egypt was third, making it four medals in four years at the World Juniors. Elsayed Aly (EGY) Two snatch world records fell in quick succession at 58kg but seven further record attempts were unsuccessful. Nicoleta Cojocaru from Moldova was the first record-breaker of the Championships when she bettered the world youth mark on 91kg. The 16-year-old went for more records but failed twice in clean and jerk, finishing sixth on 91-106-197. Yasmine Mohamed from Egypt, also 16, went for youth records in snatch, clean and jerk and total but did not make any of them. She was fifth on 88-110-198 in her first IWF competition. Beibarys Yerseit (KAZ) Ye took the junior snatch record on 100kg and finished 7kg clear. “I have hit a snatch of 100kg couple of times in training,” she said. “Overall, it was a bit below my expectations as my technique didn’t perform well during the competition. But this was my first time on the international stage, so I’m fairly satisfied with my result.” Her ambition is to step on to the Olympic platform, just like her favourite lifter Li Wenwen, the double Olympic super-heavyweight champion. “Li Wenwen is fearless and competitive on the platform, and off the platform she is a great sister who often helps us in solving technical problems,” said Ye. Maria Paz Casadevall (ARG) Joseline Lopez from Mexico, who was seventh last year and 10th in 2024 at lighter weights, was second on 92-121-213 – a 22kg improvement on her previous best total. Lopez failed with a clean and jerk world record attempt on 126kg. Third place went to Maria Paz Casadevall from Argentina. Two years ago she became Argentina’s first ever weightlifting world champion when she took the youth title at 59kg as a 16-year-old, and last year she was third in the Juniors. Nicoleta Cojocaru (MDA) Casadevall made it three World Championships medals in three years, this time at a lighter weight, on a career-best 91-115-206. “I can make 220 in the 61kg (Olympic) category,” she said. Her coach Roman Gorosito said, “I know she can do it in Olympic qualification because Paz fights like John Wick (in the Hollywood film series). She never gives up, she keeps improving.” Casadevall came to the sport in her home town of San Jorge because her elder sister, Maria Luz, was a weightlifter. Last week Maria Luz, 25, won the 58kg Pan American title on 214kg. Joseline Lopez (MEX) After her famous youth win two years ago, Maria Paz said of her sister, “I compete against her but I haven’t beaten her yet.” How about now? “No, we are level with each other - but it will happen next year!” Venezuela’s medallist was Yilihannys Jimenez, third in snatch and fourth overall on 92-113-205. Wang Liqiang had a sweep of golds and missed only one attempt, his last at 166kg. Wan was fifth after two snatch failures but finished second on 132-165-297. He had a chance at gold but 171kg was beyond him on his final attempt. Elsayed Aly, whose World Juniors record reads second in 2023, third in 2024 and champion last year, all at 61kg, was on the podium again for Egypt in his final year as a junior. He made 131-160-291 for bronze in clean and jerk and total. Samoel Rrasa won snatch silver for Albania and finished fourth with a five-from-six 134-156-290. Snatch bronze went to A Tieu from Vietnam, fifth on 134-155-289. By Brian Oliver Photos by Giorgio
