By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

National Paralympians have claimed four medals, including two gold and two bronze at 2018 European Open Para Powerlifting Championship held in Berck-sur-Mer, France.

Elshan Huseynov earned a gold medal after lifting a total of 230kg, while Nurlan Babajanov captured bronze with a lift of 197kg.

On the first day of the tournament, Parvin Mammadov grabbed gold while female athlete Aytan Bagirova captured a bronze medal.

France hosted the 2018 European Open Para Powerlifting Championships on May 25-30.

Around 250 athletes from 40 countries competed in northern France in one of the most high-level competitions on the calendar.

Berck-sur-Mer 2018 will be the third European Open Para Powerlifting Championships since 2013, when the competition returned to the calendar in Alexin, Russia, after a six year hiatus.

The last edition was held in Eger, Hungary in 2015, and featured more than 200 athletes from 41 countries. Four world and six European records were broken as athletes took one of the final chances to improve their place in the Paralympic rankings for Rio 2016.

Azerbaijani Paralympic athletes are achieving more success year by year. 

In 2013, Azerbaijani two-time Paralympic champion and four-time European champion won gold medal at the IBSA Judo European Championships.

Only in 2015, the Paralympic athletes have won 79 medals – 32 gold, 28 silver and 19 bronze.

The National Paralympic Committee of Azerbaijan (NPKA) was established in 1996.

The Committee is developing 12 of the 19 Paralympic sports. By the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, two sports will also be added to them.