Ali Thameem
Maldivian powerlifters have achieved milestones at the The Thai Amateur Association of Powerlifting (TAAP) in Bangkok.
All five Maldivians; Shamsa Hussain Mohamed, Adam Mibsam Saleem, Meekail Ibrahim Shareef, Imkan Ibrahim and Hussain Zaidhan Jaleel, have earned spots in next year’s National TAAP which is to be held in February.
The most notable of results was delivered by Shamsa, who was part of the 69kg open category. She lifted a total of 357.5 kilograms of weight across deadlift, squat and benchpress, qualifying for the Asian Championship.
Mibsam lifted a total 540kg in the Junior 66kg category. He too won the gold medal, and qualified for Asian Championship as well as the World Championship, having surpassed the qualifying threshold of weight. In addition, Imkan had won the 74kg Junior category by lifting total 500kg. Meekail won silver in the 66kg open category by lifting 480kgs, and Zaidhan lifted 597.5kg in the 93kg open, achieving fourth place. All four men had therefore reached the criteria to qualify for both Asian and World Championships.
While five athletes winning medals in a single tournament is a big day for powerlifting in Maldives, there have been other international events where locals had taken part and achieved notable results over the years. A total of nine local powerlifters had previously won awards in various ITP-approved tournaments.
