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Women's Weightlifting to Take Center Stage
Women's weightlifting will take center stage on Monday, day three of Olympic competition.
Asian female weightlifters have dominated women's weightlifting in recent years with China, Chinese Taipei and India boasting world champions in the seven contested weight divisions. Chinese weightlifters hold 16 of the 21 women's world records.
The two weight classes to be contested Monday, the women's 53kg and 58 kg class will be no exception.
Li Feng Ying of Chinese Taipei and Yang Xia of China are expected to challenge for the gold medal in the 53kg class.
Li beat her rivals at the world championships in November, breaking the world clean and jerk record along the way. Yang, a silver medalist at those championships competing in a higher weight category, will drop back a division in an attempt to win gold.
Others to look out for include, Japan's Mari Nakaga and Indian pair Sanamacha Chang and Winarni Slamet.
World clean and jerk record holder Ri Song Hui of DPR Korea is favorite to take gold in the women's 58kg class. In the absence of world champion Chen Yanqing of China, Ri Song Hui looks a class above her rivals.
Due to China's amazing depth and the fact each team can only select four athletes, there was always the potential that a gold medal prospect would be left off the team.
However, the battle for bronze is wide open. Thailand's khassarapom Suta, Canadian Maryse Turcotte, Mexican Soraya Jimenez Mendivil and Poland's Aleksandra Klejnowska are genuine medal hopefuls.
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