Iran objects to IWF Olympic spots decision

Iran filed a formal objection to the new rules by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) which limit Iran to just two men’s spots in 2020 Olympic weightlifting competitions, President of Iran Weightlifting Federation Ali Moradi said on Sunday.

On Friday, the sport’s governing body published the new rules, allowing countries with 10-19 cases of doping violation from July 2008 to 2020 only two men and two women participants in Tokyo.

Five nations, including Russia, with a record of more than 20 doping cases in the same period have been limited to only one weightlifter in the men’s and women’s contests.

“IWF’S decision to reduce Iran’s Olympic places was hasty and only in favor of certain countries,” Moradi said.

Despite approving measures taken by IWF to confront doping crisis in the sport, Moradi still believes the organization’s new decision has been harsh, adding, “We have run hundreds of doping tests over the past three years which indicates Iran’s firm intention of confronting doping and with no records of positive tests in that period, new rules would seriously harm Iran’s weightlifting.

“Some influential countries in IWF with nine doping cases will still have full spots whilst Iran will have to do with only two men despite all the achievements in the Rio Games and world championships in different age categories,” Moradi said.

“We will have a hard task to pick only two participants for the Games,” Moradi said, referring to Rio champions Sohrab Moradi and Kianoush Rostami plus heavyweight lifters Behdad Salimi and Saied Ali-hosseni all challenging of a place in Tokyo.