China’s Tian Hao wins gold at Asian weightlifting championships

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At the ongoing Asian Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo, east China, Chinese Tian Hao helped the host nation continue their gold rush on Thursday as the 25-year-old claimed top honors in the men's 96-kilogram category.

The Hubei native stood head and shoulders above the competition in the snatch, hoisting 181 kilograms, which was seven more than his closest rival.

The Olympic games and world championship silver medalist was the last to come out for the clean and jerk, where he raised up 220 kilograms with ease on his very first attempt.

One of his closest competitors, Qatar's Faris Ibrahim El-Bakh, was not able to match him. Meanwhile, Seyed Ayoub Mousavi of Iran cleared 207 kilos to move into second but then tries to push up 225 to no avail, forcing El-Bakh to make back-to-back lifts.

The 20-year-old, however, was unsuccessful on all three of his efforts. After earning silver in the snatch, El-Bakh missed out on the medals in the clean and jerk.

With his coaches' encouragement, Mousavi gave 225 one more shot, but ended up with silver after only hoisting 207 in this portion, and 373 overall. Tian then tried twice to break the world record by lifting 230 kilograms but had to eventually settle for three golds and an overall total of 401 kilos instead.