Weightlifting review: China challenged at Asiad with hope ahead of Paris

HANGZHOU, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese weightlifters felt pressure from their rivals at the Asian Games, and would review their performances in Hangzhou to prepare for the Paris Olympics.

The weightlifting competition concluded on Saturday with host China collecting five golds, three silvers and one bronze.

DPR Korean weightlifters flexed their muscles by pocketing six golds and posting six records while Indonesia, South Korea and Bahrain captured one gold each.

Jang Song Nam, an official from DPRK's Olympic Committee, attributed the team's impressive performance to their rigorous daily training regimen.

"There is no secret for our success," said Jang, explaining that his team had missed several international competitions over the last few years, including the delayed Tokyo Olympic Games.

"All weightlifters of the team trained hard for the Hangzhou Asiad," he said, adding that the country have held many different competitions for its athletes to maintain competitive form during the last few years.

Yu Jie, coach of Chinese weightlifting team, was impressed by DPR Korean weightlifters' performance, especially their strongwomen, who grabbed five golds.

"Their weightlifting strength was demonstrated at the Asiad," said Yu, adding that his team would reflect on their gains and losses at the Asian Games and fully prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Most of China's weightlifters have joined the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships last month in Riyadh of Saudi Arabia. Athletes had no time to recover after participating in two competitions for a short time, according to coaches and weightlifters.

China's Li Wenwen, setting three new Olympic records en route to a gold medal in the women's +87kg category at the Tokyo Olympic Games, had withdrawn from the Asian Games event due to an elbow injury.

The 23-year-old suffered the injury during the world championships in Riyadh last month, and her absence left China with 13 weightlifters at the Hangzhou Asiad.

China's Hou Zhihui, who had won the 49kg gold at the Tokyo Olympics, took the bronze with 210kg in the women's 55kg category at the Asiad. In the contest, Hou suffered a slight sprain during her second attempt in the snatch.

"My coach suggested me quitting the competition," said Hou, adding that she insisted on competing for the bronze.

In the women's 87kg category, 26-year-old Liang Xiaomei of China, a gold medalist in the women's 81kg at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships, took a dominant win in the women's 87kg weightlifting at the Asiad.

"After the world championships, I tried my best to adjust my form," said the injury-plagued Liang, adding that she would now focus on the Paris Olympics and continue to improve her performance.

Yu indicated that his male weightlifter has made breakthrough in heavyweight event. Liu Huanhua, a 22-year-old gold medalist in the men's 102kg category at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships, won men's 109kg gold at the Asiad, setting Games records in both clean and jerk and total weight.

"Liu made a miracle at the Asiad gave me confidence to expect him to make history in heavyweight event at the Paris Olympic Games," said Yu, stating that all athletes of the team would improve their form and prepare for the Paris 2024.