TEHRAN – Hossein Tavakoli was appointed as new head coach of Iran’s Para Powerlifting on Monday.

He replaced Aliasghar Ravasi who led the Iranian powerlifters in the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

Tavakoli, Sydney 2000 Olympic Games gold medal winner, will lead Iran at the 2021 World Junior & Senior Para Powerlifting Championships in Georgian capital Tbilisi from Nov. 27 to Dec. 5.

Tbilisi successfully hosted a World Para Powerlifting World Cup for the first time in May with almost 100 athletes from 25 countries.

Paralympic powerlifting is an adaptation of the sport of powerlifting for athletes with disabilities. The only discipline in Paralympic powerlifting is the bench press.