TEHRAN – Iranian weightlifting prodigy Alireza Yousefi says he is going to overtake Georgian weightlifter Lasha Talakhadze in the super-heavyweight category.

He registered a new record in the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships on Dec. 17 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The 18-year-old weightlifter made 238kg in the clean and jerk in the +109kg and bettered the world junior record by one kilogram set by his compatriot Ali Davoudi in the 2019 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo, China.

Georgian Lasha Talakhadze made 225-267-492 to win the gold medal in the weight category. Armenian Varazdat Lalayan won the silver with 457kg and the bronze medal went to his countryman Gor Minasyan who lifted 448kg in total.

Iranian weightlifters Ayat Sharifi and Alireza Yousefi came sixth and seventh respectively in the weight category with 424 and 421kg.

Now, Yousefi says he is ready to break the record in the senior category.

“I’m satisfied with what I did in Tashkent. My first goal was to break the junior’s record. From now on, I want to better the record in senior level,” Yousefi said.

“It was very important for me to show my potential in the world championships. In the upcoming years, I will do my best to lift the heavier weights,” the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics gold medalist added.