Lu Yong, Liu Chunhong lift golds in Asian Games
China's vaunted weightlifters lived up to expectations at the Dongguan Gymnasium on Wednesday 17 November. Olympic champions Lu Yong and Liu Chunhong topped their respective divisions as the host nation
continued their dominance of the 2010 Asian Games weightlifting competition.
Lu, who settled for the silver at the 2006 Doha Asiad, topped the men's 85kg class. The 2009 world champion withstood a late surge from South Korean Kim Kwang-hoon to win the title with a total lift of
376kg.
Lu, who placed only fifth in this year's world championships, led after the snatch with a lift of 173kg. He hauled 203kg in the clean and jerk and anxiously watched Kim fumble in his final lift that could
have given him the gold.
Kim was nowhere near the leaders after lifting only 160kg in the snatch. But the South Korean made his presence felt in the second session, lifting 209kg. He attempted but failed at 216kg in a desperate
move to pip Lu for the gold.
Kim finished the competition tied with China's Jiang Hairong with a 369kg total but was awarded the bronze due to a lower body weight.
Uzbekistan's Mansurbek Chashemov took silver with a 372kg total.
"Sure I was nervous. But I've rarely seen lifters doing 216kg on their third attempt. I have injuries to my two knees and I didn't want to make them worse ahead of winter training," Lu told AFP.
In the day's main event, Liu topped the women's 69kg category. The double Olympic champion faltered in her first attempt at 106kg but succeeded in her second try. She eventually cleared 110kg to take the
lead after the snatch. Liu settled for 132kg in the clean and jerk for a final tally of 242kg.
"I retained my strength in the competition, because my opponents were not as competitive as expected," said Liu, who smashed three world records en route to winning the gold at the Beijing Games.
The 25-year-old is now looking forward to winning another Olympic gold at the 2012 London Games.
Darmariani Sinta of Indonesia claimed silver after an outstanding performance in the clean and jerk. The 24-year-old managed only 101kg in the snatch but hauled 137kg in the second session for a 238kg
total.
Chinese Taipei's Wang Ya-jhen also had a strong clean and jerk performance to claim bronze. She cleared only 100kg in the snatch but lifted 133kg in the clean and jerk for a 233kg output.
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