China's Wang Zhouyu wins 3 silvers at IWF World Cup

China's Wang Zhouyu won three silver medals in the women's 81 kg category at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup in Phuket on Tuesday, successfully attempting 120 kg in snatch, 147 kg in clean and jerk, and 267 kg in total.

China's other lifter, Liang Xiaomei, who currently holds the world records in clean and jerk and total weight in this category, ranked seventh after sustaining a waist injury recently. Despite underperforming in this round, Liang still leads the qualifying standings for the Paris Olympics with her record 284 kg total weight.

Wang was a gold medalist in the 87 kg category at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo, and saw fruitful results of her transition to a lower category at the World Championships last year when she won the snatch gold. She also won two silvers and one bronze at the IWF Grand Prix II in Doha, Qatar.

Liang, who has been China's leading lifter in this category in the Paris Olympic cycle, won double golds in clean and jerk and total weight at the 2022 World Championships, and set the world records for each with 161 kg and 284 kg in the following edition.

On Tuesday, injury-hit Liang recorded a result of 113 kg in snatch and 140 kg in clean and jerk to safely get through the competition. Wang succeeded in her first attempt to win three silvers.

Chinese female lifters won a total of three golds and one silver at the Tokyo Olympics, including Hou Zhihui in the 47 kg category, Wang in the 87 kg category, Li Wenwen in the +87 kg category, and a second-placed finish from Liao Qiuyun in the 55 kg category, in addition to four golds won by their male counterparts.

The IWF World Cup in Thailand, which started on March 31, runs until April 11 and is part of the qualifying process to the Paris Olympics.