Turkish Paralympian breaks world record to claim gold

Turkish Paralympian breaks world record to claim gold

RIO DE JANEIRO

REUTERS photo

Turkey’s Nazmiye Muratlı broke the world and Paralympic record on Sept. 8 on her way to gold in the women’s up to 41kg powerlifting event at the 2016 Paralympics Games in Rio De Janeiro.

Muratlı, the defending champion, lifted 104kg on her second attempt to break the previous world record mark of 103.5kg and retain her Paralympic crown ahead of China’s Zhe Cui, while Ni Nengah Widiasih, from Indonesia, took home the bronze with a successful lift of 95kg.

The Turkish star had one more attempt at improving the world record to 106kg, but she was unable to complete the lift.

Another Paralympic medal for Turkey came in the women’s judo event, when visually impaired Paralympian Ecem Taşkın won the bronze in the 48-kilogram category after beating Lee Kai-Lin of Taiwan.

Turkish national wheelchair basketball team, meanwhile, beat Japan 65-49 in its first game in Group A.

In the men’s up to 49kg powerlifting competition, Vietnam’s Van Cong Le was crowned the new champion with a lift of 183 kilograms, breaking the world and Paralympic records in the process.

Jordan’s Omar Qarada finished second while the bronze medal went to Nandor Tunkel of Hungary.