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The Armenian weightlifting team has performed successfully at international championships this year, claiming a total of 73 medals, Armenian Weightlifting Federation Secretary General Pashik Alaverdyan told reporters on Wednesday.

“You know that we were disqualified after some athletes tested positive for drugs. But we worked very well with the International Weightlifting Federation and fulfilled all their demands, with no violations revealed among our athletes, expected for Sona Poghosyan,” he said.

“They took all this into account to reduce our disqualification period, with our junior and young weightlifters starting to compete at championships already in June. In fact, this year we missed only the European Championships,” Alaverdyan added.

He stressed the large number of medals won by the team testifies to the fact the Armenian weightlifting has a bright future.

Armenian athlete Simon Martirosyan, a European champion and Olympic silver medallist, was crowned world champion after lifting a combined total of 435kg, setting several world records, while Gor Minasyan, an Olympic silver medal winner, grabbed the silver with the result of 450kg in the World Weightlifting Championships held in Ashgabad, Turkmenistan a few days ago.

Martirosyan, present at the meeting, stressed becoming a word champion was a goal he was pursuing. “It was a dream and a goal for me to become a world champion. To tell the truth, I don’t realize that I have become a champion of the world; I feel like a champion only when people meet me casually and offer their congratulations,” he said.