Youth has future on 3rd day of Weightlifting

Ashgabat, April 25, 2017: YOUTH FUTURE, Young lifters dominated the women’s 63kg on day three of the Senior Asian Weightlifting Championships in Ashgabat, with 2016 Junior World Champion Rim Um Sim (PRK) taking the Combined gold. In the men’s 69kg, 2013 Junior World Champion Albert Linder (KAZ) ran away with the title.

Women’s 63kg
Rim Un Sim (PRK) surprised herself with gold in the Combined women’s 63kg, lifting a total of 237kg. The 20-year-old reigning World Junior Champion swept all events, taking the Snatch with 106kg and the Clean & Jerk with 131kg.

YOUTH FUTURE, Defending champion Siripuch Gulnoi (THA) took home silver, lifting a total of 231kg. She also took bronze in Snatch and silver in Clean & Jerk. Chiang Nien-Hsin (TPE) lifted the same total as Gulnoi, but had to settle for bronze because Gulnoi was the first to reach the 231kg mark. 19-year-old Chiang, Youth Olympic Champion in 2014, also collected separate bronze in the Snatch and silver in Clean & Jerk.

Champion Rim was happy with her performance and impressed with the Ashgabat 2017 facilities: “I didn’t expect to win all three medals because the opposition was stiff. I tried my best and in the end I won.

“I don’t know yet if I’ll be back for the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Games in September, but from what I’ve seen so far, Ashgabat is a great city and the facilities fantastic. I would like to thank the LOC and the citizens of Turkmenistan for their hospitality.”

Snatch
Gold PRK RIM Un Sim 106
Silver THA GULNOI Siripuch 102
Bronze TPE CHIANG Nien-Hsin 101

Clean & Jerk
Gold PRK RIM Un Sim 131
Silver TPE CHIANG Nien-Hsin 130
Bronze THA GULNOI Siripuch 129

Combined
Gold PRK RIM Un Sim 237
Silver THA GULNOI Siripuch 231
Bronze TPE CHIANG Nien-Hsin 231

Men’s 69kg
Albert Linder (KAZ) not only showed physical strength to win the Combined men’s 69kg title, but mental toughness too. After finishing second in the Snatch event, the 21-year-old 2013 World Junior Champion raised his entry weight in the Clean & Jerk event to the limit of his opponents’ powers by entering the competition at 178kg. Linder eventually lifted 187kg to take Clean & Jerk gold and collect a total of 335kg for the Combined title.

O Khang Chol (PRK), who took bronze in the Snatch event, attempted to lift 187kg before Linder, but was unable to complete the lift. The 23-year-old lifter from the People’s Republic of Korea did take the Combined silver with 331kg. Feng Lvdong (CHN) took bronze with 325 after having won the Snatch event by a seven-kilogram margin.

Champion Linder was full of confidence: “I was well prepared for these Championships, unlike last year that’s why I missed Olympic qualification. Today I played the odds in the Clean & Jerk because I felt strong enough and confident I could win.”

Snatch
Gold CHN FENG Lvdong 155
Silver KAZ LINDER Albert 148
Bronze PRK O Khang Chol 148

Clean & Jerk
Gold KAZ LINDER Albert 187
Silver PRK O Khang Chol 183
Bronze UZB YOKUBOV Doston 177

Combined
Gold KAZ LINDER Albert 335
Silver PRK O Khang Chol 331
Bronze CHN FENG Lvdong 325. —- Laurel News Services