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Jinju, Day 6: Three more world records for unstoppable China at Asian Championships

Another three world records, another two playings of their national anthem and another European knocked off the top of the Paris rankings – all in a day’s work for Team China at the Asian Championships in Jinju (KOR).

Li Dayin went up to the heaviest weight of his career, Tian Tao went down and both men claimed 89 kilograms world records in a one-two finish, China’s fourth in six days here.

There was another one-two for the world’s best weightlifting team when Liang Xiaomei and Wang Zhouyu, the top two in the Olympic rankings, outclassed the rest in the women’s 81kg.

Winner Li had two world records, 180kg in the snatch and 396kg in total, while Tian Tao came out at the finish to make a record-breaking 222kg clean and jerk.

Between them both men took away Karlos Nasar’s two world records in a week when the Bulgarian teenager suffered a serious injury that will severely disrupt his progress towards Paris 2024.

Nasar becomes the third European to lose top spot in the Olympic rankings here, after Chinese women had overtaken the Ukrainian Kamila Konotop and Romania’s Loredana Toma.

Tian Tao knows what it is like to move up and down the weights, having shot up from 85kg to 96kg after finishing second at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

He had to shed seven kilograms for this competition and said: “It’s very tough.”

By contrast Li went up from 81kg and although it was difficult for him too he said: “The process itself is actually quite enjoyable, eating more, gaining weight and gaining power as you do it.”

At 88.48kg Li, 25, was at the heaviest weight of an international career that began in 2018. 

When he competed at this weight once before, in 2019, he weighed less than 86kg.

Li made 180-216-396, while Tian Tao had two snatch failures in his 165-222-387.

“The snatch wasn’t so good, not my best,” he said.

Tian Tao said that the two team-mates enjoyed training together, that they both wanted to be selected for Paris and win gold.

Li said: “The atmosphere in the team is very good, we cheer for each other, support each other.”

At the European Championships in Armenia last month Nasar was the only lifter to make a clean and jerk above 200kg.

Here both Chinese athletes did it, as well as Mir Mostafa from Iran, Yu Dongju from Korea and Amur Al Khanjari from Oman, who had a career-best total of 357kg in sixth place.

Mostafa was third on 159-205-364, and Emil Moldodosov from Kyrgyzstan claimed the snatch silver on 166kg.

China’s second one-two of the day came when world champion Liang Xiaomei won the women’s 81kg ahead of Olympic 87kg champion Wang Zhouyu.

Liang made six from six for 120-155-275, moving nine kilograms clear of Wang in the rankings. 

Wang, who will be 29 at the weekend, missed three attempts and finished 115-146-261.

Ankha Munkhjantsan from Mongolia was third, declining her last two attempts to finish 108-135-243 and put herself in a reasonable position in the Paris rankings.

Japan had rare world records to cheer when 16-year-old Wakana Nagashima made 100-135-235 for sixth place, setting youth world records in clean and jerk and total.

Korea had its first win of the week when Kim Suhyeon took the women’s 76kg on 109-134-243, which was two kilograms lower than her bronze medal total at the IWF World Championships.

In a field of five, the smallest field of the Championships, Kim finished ahead of Thailand’s Siriyakorn Khaipandung, the snatch winner, on 110-127-237. 

Kim’s team-mate Lee Min Ji made it two medals for the host nation by finishing third on 100-128-228.

By Brian Oliver, Inside the Games