There was no end to the commotion of the spectators who were either standing or sitting jam-packed on the bleachers in the weightlifting hall. They were chanting praises in unison of Hassan Pajand, that veteran weightlifter from Hamadan, who soon would be standing before a 111-kilogram barbell that he would be hoisting above his head in one thrust; a move that would determine the ultimate destiny of the Asian youth record in the lightweight snatch event. It had been years since Ahmad Ayeni, the masterly and capable weightlifter from Kermanshah, had lifted the 109-kilogram barbell above his head; no person on the continent had since been able to surpass and dethrone him. It was a strange day. It was two and a half hours into the competition and within that time frame, the Asian record had been broken twice. The times smelled musty and old and this was wearing on the nerves of the athletes and coaches. Well-known youth weightlifters had come to break the several-year-old spell and by putting their skill on display to allow a breeze blow over the stagnant air of weightlifting on the ancient continent. The young Iranian weightlifters were determined to break the Asian continent record.

Javad Afhami (1964 / Iran) started writing from 2001. Among his novels ‘Cold Suraan’, ‘the Lesser Bear Stars’ (which was the candidate for Jalall Al Ahmad in 1389) and story collection of ‘Samand Taxi’ and ‘Azure Umbrella’ can be referred.