China’s Jiang Huihua just failed with a world record attempt and Thailand won its first continental title in six years on day one of the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Jinju, Korea.
It was a good day all round for both nations, and also for Vietnam despite bombouts for its first two athletes.
This is a qualifier for the Olympic Games and if anybody deserves a place at Paris 2024 it is Jiang, who has won three world titles and has never finished outside the first two in any competition in a career that began in 2013. She has never lifted at the Olympic Games, though.
In a very high-quality women’s 49kg session Jiang made her first five lifts to improve her No 1 position in the rankings by 1kg, but failed with a final attempt at 120kg that would have given her world records in clean and jerk and total.
For the first time at this weight the top four finishers, from China and Thailand, all made totals of 200kg or more.
That number might have been five – the same as the number of world champions in a formidable line-up – but for Mirabai Chanu declining her final two attempts.
The Olympic silver medallist from India spent many weeks recovering from back and shoulder injuries and did not want to risk another setback after making a total of 194kg.
Chanu, 28, already has a 200kg total from the first Olympic qualifier, the IWF World Championships in Colombia last December, where Jiang was also the winner.
Jiang made 94-113-207 – her eighth straight total of 200kg-plus – ahead of her team-mate and Olympic champion Hou Zhihui on 93-111-204. Hou improved on her World Championships performance by 6kg.
Thanyathon Sukcharoen, the 45kg world champion, was third in the snatch and made six from six for 90-110-200, but was edged out of third place on total because her team-mate Surodchana Khambao got to 200kg before her.
Although she made only three good lifts, Khambao also finished on 90-110-200.
The Japanese lifter Rira Suzuki missed her first attempt then made the next five to finish fifth from the B Group and move into the Paris top 10 with 83-111-194.
Earlier, Thailand won its first Asian Championships title since Sukcharoen claimed the old 48kg gold (under her previous forename Thunya) in 2017.
Siriwimon Pramongkhol made 77-100-177 to take the women’s 45kg, the opening event of the Championships.
Pramongkhol has also changed her forename: as Chayuttra she was one of the nine Thai lifters disqualified for doping at the 2018 IWF World Championships, where her winning total at 49kg was 209kg, nearly 30kg higher than today.
Thailand’s programme of reforms is off to a good start in Olympic qualifying and there is also progress off the platform.
Rose Jean Ramos from the Philippines was well back in second place on 73-88-161, and the Indonesian Siti Hariroh was third on 71-88-159.
Vietnam, who prepared with a training camp in China, came within one lift of a hat-trick of bombouts before a recovery gave them a 1-2 finish in the men’s 55kg.
The first two Vietnamese lifters of the day both failed with all three snatch attempts, last year’s winner Khong My Phuong in the women’s 45kg and Nguyen Hoai Huong in the 49kg B Group.
Do Tu Tung then failed with his first two snatch attempts but made his third, then all three clean and jerks for 116-147-263.
That was a career-best for Do, twice Asian junior champion and still young enough to lift in the juniors at 19.
His team-mate Ngo Son Dinh was second on 117-143-260 and snatch winner Arli Chontey of Kazakhstan edged out Saudi Arabia’s Mansour Al Saleem for third place on 117-141-258. Al Mansour was third in the snatch, where Do was out of the medals, and also took bronze in clean and jerk but was fourth on total.
By Brian Oliver, Inside the Games
