TEHRAN - Iran's weightlifting performance was disappointing in the 2022 Asian Games, as they failed to win a gold medal for the first time in 21 years and only secured a silver.

With seven men and three women, Iran's weightlifting team only managed to win one silver at Hangzhou.

The only medal won by the Iranian team earned by Ali Davoudi in the men's +109kg competition.

In addition to Iran's gold medal drought, four weightlifters were unable to finish the competition in both the men's and women's teams.

Following the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships, many Iranian weightlifters experienced a significant decrease in performance, having difficulty maintaining fitness. In fact, some members of the national team performed poorly in both the 2023 World Championships and the 2022 Asian Games.

At the Asian Games’ weightlifting, there was intense competition and many records were broken. However, the Iranian representatives fell short of the minimum expectation to lift the selected weights.

Iran's weightlifting, traditionally a medal-winning sport in the Asian Games, is in need of a generational change to revive its performance.

To achieve better results in the future, it is crucial for the technical staff, headed by Navab Nassirshalal as head coach, to invest in training promising young weightlifters. Otherwise, based on the current record status of certain national team members, it seems unlikely that anything extraordinary will occur in upcoming competitions.