TEHRAN – Hamed Solhipour claimed Iran’s first gold medal at the Asia-Oceania Open Powerlifting Championships on Tuesday.

The Iranian athlete lifter 233kg to win the gold medal in the men's up to 97kg in Kitakyushu, Japan.

Mohammed Khamis Khalaf from the UAE took the silver, lifting 230kg and Panpan Yan from Chine won the bronze medal with 216kg.

Three Iranian powerlifter Nader Moradi (up to 80kg), Rouhollah Rostami (up to72kg) and Yousef Yousefi (up to 59kg) have already won three silver medals in the competition.

The competition features 200 powerlifters from 29 countries in all, with lifters from outside the Asia-Oceania region welcome.