IF WE HAD WON A GOLD MEDAL, OUR PERFORMANCE AT THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS COULD HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED SUCCESSFUL". - HEAD COACH OF RUSSIAN POWERLIFTING TEAM D.V. KRASILNIKOV

In Tbilisi (Georgia) completed the World Powerlifting Championship ans.

Following the results of the championship our powerlifters have won 3 silver and 3 bronze medals. The World Championship ended with the Russian national team winning 2 gold and 1 bronze medal and finishing 2nd in the medal standings.

Dmitry Krasilnikov, Head coach of Russian powerlifting team, honoured coach of Russia, summed up results of the competition in his interview with press-service of RPC:

"If we had won a gold medal, our performance at the World Championships could have been considered successful. But, unfortunately, we did not manage to win it, although initially we planned to have it in our luggage.

There were various reasons for that. One of the main ones was the fact that five of our leading athletes did not make it to the competitions, due to various reasons. It is a pity that one of the leaders of the Russian team Vladimir Krivulya did not compete for the championship, whose results would have allowed him to reach the highest step of the podium. By the way, he could have done it at last summer's Paralympics in Tokyo, but he and many of his Russian colleagues simply were not allowed to compete.

So we had to be content with three silver and three bronze medals, although all medalists, given better luck, could have hoped for more.

It should be noted that the World Cup and parallel World Championship were very representative. A total of about 500 athletes from 69 countries took part in these tournaments. In some weight categories more than thirty competitors fought for the victory. As you can imagine how tough the competition was.

In these conditions our juniors did not lose heart. They showed their high class and enviable skills. Islam Abdulkadirov and Leonid Voshchikov became champions, and Aiyal Sivtsev won a bronze medal. In my opinion, they have great potential and in time they can make a name for themselves on the adult international arena.

The World Championships were the first qualifying round on their way to the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris. The European Championships are still to come, followed by the World Championships and World Cups again.