Weightlifter Jang Mi-ran claims elusive Asiad gold
Jang Mi-ran has finally won the only major title that is missing from her illustrious career. The South Korean weightlifter ruled the women's 75kg division at the Dongguan Gymnasium on Friday to win her
first ever Asian Games gold medal.
The reigning Olympic champion, who settled for silvers in the 2002 and 2006 Asiads, made a total lift of 311kg. She actually finished tied with young Chinese lifter Meng Suping but was awarded the gold
due to a lower body weight.
Jang, a four-time world champion, ranked only third behind Meng and Kazakhstan's Mariya Grabovetskaya after the snatch. She managed only a lift of 130kg to trail her rivals by 5kg.
But Jang was not to be denied of an Asiad gold medal for a third consecutive time. She hauled 181kg in the clean and jerk to secure the victory.
Meng lifted 176kg in the second session while Grabovetskaya managed only 155kg for a 290kg total to settle for the bronze.
"I thought my form today was pretty good. Now that the competition is over I'm sore all over," Jang told AP.
"This gives me more confidence and motivation for the road ahead."
Meng congratulated Jang, whom she beat in this year's world championships.
"It depends on your effort, it has little to do with body weight. You just have to go out onto the floor and compete. If you can lift it, you lift it. If you drop it, you drop it," she said.
China eventually won a gold on the last day of weightlifting competition courtesy of Yang Zhe in the men's 100kg division.
The 19-year-old lifted 185kg in the snatch and 217kg in the clean and jerk for a 402kg total. Yang's victory was sealed when Uzbekistan's Ivan Efremov failed at 223kg in the clean and jerk. The Uzbek finished
with 182kg in the snatch and 218kg in the clean and jerk for a combined lift of 400kg.
Sergey Istomin of Kazakhstan claimed the bronze with a 396kg total.
"I've learned a lot from these two experts, they have great competition experience and persistence," Yang said.
In the final event of the night, Behdad Salimikordasiabi of Iran expectedly won the men’s over-100kg title. The reigning world champion lifted 205kg in the snatch and 235kg in the clean and jerk for a
winning total of 440kg.
Salimikordasiabi attempted to lift 241kg in the clean and jerk but was not able to hold the barbell above his head and collapsed in the process. He did not return for his final attempt but his earlier
effort was enough to win gold.
"I had swine flu and a cold (about two weeks ago) and lost eight kilograms. Because of that, I was not in good shape for the Asian Games. But I came for a gold medal," the Iranian said.
South Korea's Jeon Sang-guen settled for the silver with a 428kg total while another Iranian Sajjad Anoushiravani took bronze with 427kg.
China ended the competition with eight golds, two silvers and one bronze medal. Kazakhstan finished second with a 3-2-4 medal haul. North Korea had a 2-3-1 harvest while South Korea had a 1-2-2 production.
Iran (1-2-1), Uzbekistan (0-2-0), Indonesia (0-1-3), Thailand (0-1-1) and Chinese Taipei (0-0-2) were the other countries that won medals in the weightlifting competition.
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