Riyadh, September 5 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese team won the "good start" at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on the 5th, and in the women's 49kg competition at the Paris Olympics, Jiang Huihua defeated her teammate and Tokyo Olympic champion Hou Zhihui to win the jerk and overall championships with a performance that broke two world records.
Photo courtesy of the Chinese weightlifting team
The Chinese team sent Jiang Huihua and Hou Zhihui to compete in the women's 49kg category, both lifting 95kg in the snatch, but when it came to the jerk, the 25-year-old Jiang Huihua played significantly better, not only succeeding in all three attempts, but also breaking the world record in the jerk with 120kg, thus winning the overall gold medal with 215kg, and also refreshing Hou Zhihui's previous world record of 213kg.
Jiang Huihua in the game. Photo from the official website of the International Weightlifting Federation
The 26-year-old Hou Zhihui won the silver medal with 211 kilograms that day, which is actually 1 kilogram more than her victory at the Tokyo Olympics, and she also won the silver medal in the jerk with 116 kilograms. In addition, Hou Zhihui and Jiang Huihua won gold medals in the snatch and jerk respectively. De la Cruz of the United States won the bronze medal overall with 200 kg.
Hou Zhihui in the game. Photo from the official website of the International Weightlifting Federation
The official website of the International Weightlifting Federation praised the performance of the Chinese team on the same day with the title "The Chinese team sends a strong signal before the 2024 Paris Olympic Games", saying: "In the first Olympic competition level of the 2023 World Championships, the Chinese team once again proved that they are difficult to beat in the small division. The article also described the day's showdown as follows: "This match was actually divided into two groups, one was Hou Zhihui and her teammate Jiang Huihua competing for the gold medal; In the other group, the remaining players competed for the bronze medal, and the American athlete won. ”
In an interview with the IWF after the competition, Jiang Huihua said that at the beginning of the competition, she did not want to break the world record, but when the gold medal was guaranteed to the Chinese team, she was determined to break the record. Jiang Huihua responded domineeringly to whether she could participate in the Paris Olympics: "I think I will still have room for improvement." At least this time the standard (for participating in the Paris Olympics) is already there, lifting at least 215 kg! ”
Photo courtesy of the Chinese weightlifting team
In an interview with the IWF, Liu Chengliang, vice president of the Chinese Weightlifting Association, looked ahead to the Paris Olympics, saying: "Everything is full of uncertainty, which is why the Chinese team must firmly stay focused and perform at their best. The overall level of weightlifting in the world is still improving, there are always masters emerging, and in Paris, the competition will be more intense. ”
On the same day, the men's 55kg competition in the non-Olympic event was also held, and the Chinese team did not send anyone to participate, and finally Vietnam's Lai Jiaqing won the overall gold medal with 269kg.