“The sudden demise of Siaman Rahaman inflicted a great blow to the team and first, efforts should be put to rebuild the team’s morale and then to get prepared for Tokyo Paralympics,” Ravasi told ISNA on Monday.
Asked about Siamand Rahman’s replacement, he noted that Mansour Pourmirzaei is currently the best option. “Currently, Mansour Pourmirzaei who has already secured quota for the Tokyo Paralympics is the best option for replacing Rahman and we are hopeful that he could repeat Rahman’s gold in Tokyo.”
The coach went on to say that Pourmirzaei has already set 270-280kg records but he is not enjoying the utmost readiness. “We will try to boost his record so that he could be an appropriate replacement for Rahman.”
Siamand Rahman, dubbed as the world's strongest Paralympian, was one of the Iranian powerlifters who was expected to win his third gold at the Paralympic Games in a row but died due to heart attack on March 2.
Pourmirzaei’s last medal came in July 2019 when he claimed the silver in World Para Powerlifting Championships in Kazakhstan by lifting 236kg. Rahman clinched the title of that event with 265kg.
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