The 2026 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships brought together 319 entries from 28 nations, producing outstanding individual performances, closely contested team races and 59 Asian and World records.
TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN -Eight days of competition at the 2026 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships offered a compelling view of the continent’s emerging talent. From 7 to 14 August, athletes competed across 32 weight categories and set 38 Asian and 21 World records.
The results reflected the breadth of Asian weightlifting. Iran led the gold-medal standings, Uzbekistan won both overall team classifications, and Kazakhstan featured prominently throughout the men’s and women’s competitions. The Philippines, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, Vietnam and Korea were among the other nations celebrating category victories.
Record-breaking performances
Fifteen athletes from five countries contributed to the 59 records set in Tashkent, with several producing historic performances.
Iran’s Mohammad Javad Beyralvand led the record count with 11 in the Youth men’s 75kg category. He improved the World Youth total from 313kg to 325kg and raised the clean and jerk standard to 180kg. Beyralvand also competed successfully in the Junior division, winning gold in the snatch, clean and jerk, and total.
His teammate Taha Nojavan Khiarak established ten records in the Youth men’s +95kg competition. The 16-year-old reached 176kg in the snatch, 215kg in the clean and jerk and 391kg in the total, adding 17kg to the previous World Youth total record. His 1,159.125 Robi points were the highest score of the championships.
Kazakhstan’s Snezhana Kashkarova delivered the leading women’s performance. At 15 years of age, she became the first Youth woman in the 57kg category to reach a 200kg total. Her eight records and 1,069.415 Robi points placed her at the top of the women’s rankings. She also won the Junior 57kg total title against older opposition.
In the Junior men’s 70kg category, Albert Ian Delos Santos of the Philippines set three Asian and two World Junior records. Competing at a bodyweight of 69.20kg, he lifted 180kg in the clean and jerk and totalled 321kg. His score of 1,031.684 made him the highest-ranked Junior athlete by Robi points.
Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Nawaf M Al Ojaian added four records in the Youth 55kg category, while Kazakhstan’s Nurzhan Zhumabay and Xeniya Prozorova contributed six between them. Record-breaking performances also came from Iran’s Pouriya Abbaspourian, Hamidreza Zarei and Mahsa Beheshty; Kazakhstan’s Akzhol Kurmanbek and Beibarys Yerseit; Uzbekistan’s Khikmatillo Khaydarov and Mukhammadshokir Turdaliev; and the Philippines’ Jerick Icon Castro.
A varied medal picture
Iran finished with the largest gold-medal haul across the two divisions, winning 28 of the 96 available golds. Its strongest results came in the heavier categories, including Youth men’s titles at 75kg, 85kg and +95kg, and Junior men’s victories at 75kg, 95kg and 110kg. Iranian women also won the Youth 77kg and +77kg categories and the Junior 86kg title.
Kazakhstan and the Philippines each collected 16 gold medals, but achieved them in different areas. Kazakhstan was particularly successful in the middleweight categories across both genders. Its champions included Kashkarova, Prozorova, Zhumabay, Kurmanbek, Yerseit and Junior women’s 77kg winner Ayanat Zhumagali.
The Philippines dominated the lighter Youth women’s categories. Althea Bacaro won at 45kg, Alexsandra Ann Diaz at 49kg and Jhodie Peralta at 53kg, completing a sweep of the first three total titles. Delos Santos and Castro added important men’s victories.
Thailand also enjoyed a strong women’s competition. Naruemol Vonghajak, Natcha Kaewnoi and Yaowaret Phoemkaew won the Junior 49kg, 53kg and 61kg total titles respectively. Witchaya Prathumta added the Youth men’s 70kg crown.
The list of champions extended across the continent. Tomchou Meetei Nameirakpam earned India the Junior men’s 60kg title, while Vietnam’s Hoang Sang Thach won at 65kg. Korea’s Cheryang Kim lifted 264kg to win the Junior women’s +86kg category and record the highest women’s total of the championships. Saudi Arabia’s Al Ojaian was the Youth 55kg champion.
In total, athletes from nine nations won at least one category title based on the total, demonstrating that success was widely distributed across the competition.
Team races decided by depth
Uzbekistan secured the Youth team classification with 1,067 points, but the outcome remained open until the final stages. Iran finished only three points behind on 1,064, with Kazakhstan a further seven points back on 1,057. The ten-point gap between first and third illustrated the consistency of all three squads.
The Junior classification also went to Uzbekistan, whose 1,107 points placed it ahead of Kazakhstan on 1,075 and Iran on 1,013. The divisional results showed a more nuanced picture: Kazakhstan won the Junior men’s classification by four points over Uzbekistan, while the Uzbek women led their standings with 558 points.
Other teams showed notable depth. Kazakhstan topped the Youth women’s classification, Iran produced the highest Youth gold count, and Mongolia placed fourth in the Junior women’s team standings with a full group of eight scoring athletes. Saudi Arabia fielded scoring athletes in every men’s category in both divisions, while Thailand achieved three Junior women’s total titles with only four scoring athletes.
Youth athletes succeed at Junior level
More than 40 lifters entered both age divisions, and several Youth-eligible athletes reached the Junior podium.
Beyralvand won gold in the snatch, clean and jerk, and total in both versions of the 75kg competition. Beheshty repeated the achievement in the Youth +77kg and Junior 86kg categories, setting two Asian Junior records in the process. Kashkarova became the Junior 57kg total champion at 15, while Uzbekistan’s Shakhnoza Khaydarova won the 69kg total in both divisions.
Nojavan Khiarak followed his Youth victory with bronze in the Junior +110kg category. These results demonstrated the ability of Asia’s younger lifters to compete successfully against athletes several years older.
Every kilogram counted
Several titles were decided by the narrowest possible margin. The Junior men’s 60kg totals finished at 266kg, 265kg and 264kg. The +110kg podium followed the same pattern, with Uzbekistan’s Omadillo Olimov winning on 393kg, followed by 392kg and 391kg. Olimov’s result was the heaviest total recorded in either division.
The Junior men’s 85kg event produced one of the week’s most memorable exchanges. Kurmanbek of Kazakhstan raised the Asian Junior snatch record to 160kg before Khaydarov of Uzbekistan responded with 161kg. Khaydarov then set a 357kg total record, only for Kurmanbek to answer with 358kg and take the title by one kilogram.
One kilogram also separated gold and silver in the Junior women’s 57kg category. In the Youth men’s competition, only five kilograms covered the entire 70kg podium and six kilograms separated the three medallists at 85kg.
A strong outlook for Asian weightlifting
With near-equal participation by men and women, champions representing nine nations and record-setters from five countries, the championships highlighted the depth and variety of talent developing across Asia.
Iran’s gold-medal strength, Uzbekistan’s team consistency, Kazakhstan’s success across both genders, the Philippines’ achievements in the light categories and Thailand’s Junior women’s titles were all significant parts of the week. Breakthrough victories for athletes from Saudi Arabia, India, Vietnam and Korea added further range to the results.
Tashkent 2026 ultimately belonged to a generation rather than a single team. The 59 records, close finishes and success of Youth athletes at Junior level offered an encouraging indication of the standards Asia’s young weightlifters may bring to future continental, world and Olympic competitions.
