Shen Lijun reigns supreme at Asian Weightlifting Championships

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02:00

Ace Chinese weightlifter Shen Lijun made a remarkable haul of three gold medals at the ongoing Asian Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo. Chen was a two-time world champ in the 62-kilogram division and won another at 67-kg after the divisions were reorganized last year.

The pressure was pretty much on him as he was looking for his first AWF title in front of a supportive home crowd. His rivals included compatriot Feng Lyudong, who hoisted 152 kgs in the snatch.

But Shen came back strongly and raised up 154 kgs on his third attempt, setting a new world record.

Then they moved to the clean and jerk, where Feng was able to lift 178 kgs before the DPRK's Pak Jong Ju pushed up 179 kgs.

When the 26 year old Shen returned to the stage for his second attempt, he blew both of them away by hoisting a world record 185 kgs, which converted his total to another world record of 339 kgs. He swept all three gold medals while Feng was the overall runner-up and Pak settled for bronze.

Shen later said, “I need to keep working hard in my training sessions in the future. This division is more difficult than 62 kilograms, so I hope I can get even better in this division.”

Meanwhile, in the women's side, China's Hou Zhihui bagged gold in the 49-kg division. Earlier, she was a hot favorite to add to her gold from the World Cup in February.

The silver medalist from last year's World Championships claimed top honors by lifting 208 kgs overall, just two kilos less than her current world record. The DPRK's Ri Song Gum took silver at 200 kgs, while China's Zhang Rong earned bronze at 199 kgs.