North Korean, Chinese lifters win golds in Guangzhou
Kim Kum-sok won a gold medal for North Korea on the third day of the 2010 Asian Games weightlifting competition at the Dongguan Gymnasium on Monday.
He lifted 143kg in the snatch and 181kg in the clean and jerk for a 324kg total in the men's 69kg division. Kim actually finished the competition tied with Iran's Mortaza Rezaeian but was awarded the gold
medal by virtue of a lower body weight.
The victory was special for Kim, who placed only sixth in this year's world championships. He said that his lowly finish inspired him to do better this time.
"I was quite disappointed about the result at the worlds," Kim told AFP.
Rezaeian lifted 147kg in the snatch but could only haul 177kg in the clean and jerk.
"This time he lost the gold medal, but it's better than a bronze. His body weight is just a little bit heavier than Kim's," Iran coach Kourosh Bagheri said.
Indonesian lifter Triyatno salvaged a bronze medal despite struggling in the snatch. The Beijing Olympics bronze medallist managed only 143kg in the snatch after twice failing at 148kg. He lifted 178kg
in the clean and jerk for a 321kg total.
Triyatno, who also won a bronze in last year's worlds, was just 1kg better than fourth placer Seyed Panzvan of Iran.
There were no Chinese entries in the event as the national squad opted to rest reigning world champion Liao h*i.
In the night's main event, local favourite Li Xueying ruled the women's 58kg category. The 2009 world champion lifted 105kg in the snatch and 133kg in the clean and jerk for a 238kg total.
Li and North Korean Pak Hyon-suk engaged each other in a fierce competition with the former ahead only by 1kg after the snatch event. But Li gave her best in the clean and jerk as Pak could only lift 128kg
for a 232kg final tally. Another North Korean Jong Chun-mi claimed the bronze with a 225kg total.
Despite her win, Li admitted that she felt exhausted.
"In today's competition I felt I lacked strength and was not fully prepared. I just tried my best," she said.
"I'm still young and will continue to strive to do my best in the future."
Li’s victory enabled China to continue their dominance in the weight class after Deng Wei won the world championships in September and world record holder Chen Yanqing ruled the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
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