TEHRAN – Iranian sprinter Hassan Taftian is going to make history at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships.

The prestigious even will be held in Doha, Qatar from Sept. 27 to Oct. 6 at the renovated multi-purpose Khalifa International Stadium.

Mehdi Pirjahan and Ehsan Hadadi will also represent Iran in the competitions at the 400 meters hurdles and discus throw, respectively.

Taftian can be the first Iranian sprinter to win a medal at the World Championships, however he has a difficult task ahead.

Christian Coleman (9.81), Justin Gatlin (9.87), Yohan Blake (9.96), Aaron Brown (9.96), Michael Rodgers (9.97), Andre de Grasse (9.97), Xie Zhenye (10.01), Yoshihide Kiryu (10.01) and Jimmy Vicaut (10.02) will compete at the men’s 100 meters preliminary round on Friday.

Taftian, who recorded a personal best of 10.03 in Paris last year, can make history to stand on podium in Doha, however his opponents seem hard to beat.

Hadadi, 2012 Olympics silver medalist, will take part at the World Championships for the fifth time. He has already partaken at the 2007 (Osaka, Japan), 2011 (Daegu, South Korea), 2015 (Beijing, China) and 2017 (London, England).

Hadadi recently finished in sixth place in Brussels Diamond League with a 64.75m throw and it’s not enough to win a medal in Doha.

In form Swede, Daniel Stahl (71.86), Jamaican Fedrick Dacres (70.78), Austria’s Lukas Weisshaidinger (68.14) and Spaniard Lois Maikel Martinez (67.98) are looking for a medal at the competitions.  

Pirjahan has recently won a gold medal at the National Inter State Seniors Championships in India with a time of 49.33 seconds. Doha competitions could be a real test for the young Iranian hurdler.  

Karsten Warholm from Norway (46.92), Qatari Abderrahman Samba (46.98), American Rai Benjamin (46.98) and Turkey’s Yasmani Copelloare (47.81) are competing in the event and the Iranian has a tough task ahead.

Worlds in Doha will be the first championship to take place since the new eligibility regulations were put in place.

Final lists for the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 confirm that 1972 participants comprise 1054 men and 918 women from 210 teams will be in action in the Qatari capital.

Reporting by Masoud Hossein