Iranian Weightlifter Wins Bronze Medal at Asian Championships

Fatemeh Keshavarz, a 19-year-old Iranian weightlifter, won the bronze medal at the Asian Championships held in South Korea. On Monday, May 8, she lifted 85 kg in the snatch and 109 kg in the clean and jerk, totaling 194 kg. She secured third place in the clean and jerk, marking her as the second woman from Iran to win a medal in adult Asian weightlifting competitions after Elham Hosseini. This was Fatemeh's second appearance at the Asian Championships, having placed fifth in the previous edition. This achievement comes at a time when two female weightlifting champions, Parisa Jahanfekrian and Yekta Jamali, left Iran in May 2022. Parisa Jahanfekrian was the first woman to qualify for the Olympics in Iranian weightlifting but lost her chance due to shortcomings in the women's weightlifting federation and the disciplinary committee's reaction to her protests. After leaving the country, she told Voice of America that being a professional female athlete in Iran had become very difficult for her. She explained that her protests about the shortcomings on her personal Instagram account led to a six-month disciplinary penalty. Although the disciplinary committee later suspended this decision, it caused the Olympic weightlifter to lose her dream of participating in the most significant global event in this sport.