TEHRAN - Navab Nassirshalal has stepped down from his role as head coach of Iran national weightlifting team.

Nassirshalal, 33, was appointed Team Melli coach in last year’s March.

He had replaced Saeid Alihosseini in the team.

Nasirshalal has previously worked as assistant of Sajad Anoushiravani in 2016 Olympic Games. 

He led Iran in the 2023 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Jinju, South Korea, 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and 2024 IWF World Championships in Bahrain.

2000 Olympic Games champion Hossein Tavakolli, 2012 gold medalist Behdad Salimi and ex-Iran coach Koroush Bagheri are shortlisted to replace Nassirshalal.

Nassirshalal competed at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where he won a silver medal in the 105 kg division, behind Oleksiy Torokhtiy of Ukraine, but was later upgraded to the gold medal following Torokhtiy's disqualification for doping.

The weightlifter participated in the same event at the 2014 Asian Games and the 2015 World Championships, but failed to set a mark in the clean and jerk in both cases.