Tehran, YJC. Behdad Salimi believes he didn’t gain a place at the international stage this year because he was lifting for the national league.
Prior to the recent weight lifting competitions, everyone
was expecting a hat trick from Salimi, something which did not happen as the
champion resigned to a silver.
In interview with ISNA he said in answer to the question why
he was not successful in handling some weights he had so many times done
previously "I was not quite ready for the world. In fact I was only 80 percent
ready which was shy I came short for the final snatch.”
"I was fully ready for the Asian games. The body recesses
after each tournament and takes some time to get back up. It was unfortunate
that at the time when my body was building back up I had to lift weights at the
league which sent my body back down and that’s why I couldn’t do well in the
world competitions.”
He added "The silver is nothing to me. Since the first day I
got a medal, I would look at it only when I was putting it in my briefcase. I like
to get golds, not for myself, but because of my country, for my national flag
to go up and the anthem to start chanting.”
He added that although he came second, he is still number
one on the 2014 ranking.
"I had vowed that I would bring home the title of the
strongest man and I am happy that at the end of the games they announced that I
was at the top. The mere fact that under such circumstances I managed to keep
my word is so good,” Salimi said.