North Korean athlete breaks world record and wins gold, Jiang Hye-hwa: Chinese weightlifting cannot stay in its comfort zone
Jiang Hye-hwa (left) lost to North Korea's Ri Seung-Kim (center).
As the Paris Olympics get closer and closer, the Hangzhou Asian Games has also become a stage for many Chinese sports teams to observe their opponents and measure their best.
In the weightlifting competition of the Hangzhou Asian Games, China's gold medalist weightlifting team failed to usher in a good start - "We can't stay in our comfort zone all the time, only by competition can we make progress." After the women's 49kg weightlifting regret to win silver, this is Jiang Huihua's deepest feeling.
On September 30, North Korea's Ri Seung-kim, who returned to the international competition after four years, broke the world record of only 25 days set by Jiang Hye-hwa with a snatch of 92 kilograms and a jerk of 124 kilograms, with a total score of 216 kilograms.
Jiang Huihua won the silver medal with a snatch of 94 kg, a jerk of 119 kg and a total of 213 kg.
Li Shengjin cried with emotion after winning the championship.
North Korean players are really good
The first gold medal in the Asian Youth Championships and the first gold in the Youth Olympic Games, Jiang Huihua, the famous Chinese women's weightlifting world champion, is the famous big heart of the team.
At the World Championships in Riyadh in early September, in the women's 49kg category, Jiang Huihua also broke two world records in the jerk and overall with 120kg and 215kg.
Therefore, at this Asian Games, the team also arranged for Jiang Huihua to participate in the 49kg Olympic competition, while the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist, Hou Zhihui, was upgraded to the 55kg category.
Li Shengjin broke the world record.
Most people didn't expect that the planned weightlifting kickoff didn't come — all because North Korean athlete Ri Seung-kim, who had made a comeback after four years.
In the snatch competition, everything was calm. Cheering on by the audience, Jiang Huihua completed the snatch competition with 94 kg, while Li Shengjin only succeeded in the 92 kg in three attempts.
In the subsequent jerk race, the situation changed dramatically. Li Shengjin opened the handle with 117 kilograms, then broke Jiang Huihua's world record in the jerk with 122 kilograms, and completed the feat again in the third attempt - freezing the world record in the jerk at 124 kilograms.
Jiang Huihua lifted 119 kilograms in the third place, and in the end, the overall result was 3 kilograms away from the gold medal.
Jiang Huihua in the game.
"Li Shengjin is very powerful, very powerful, very powerful in 2019, and today this level is even stronger." Jiang Huihua had some regrets, but still congratulated Yi Shengjin on winning the fourth gold for the North Korean delegation.
In fact, Li Shengjin is Jiang Huihua's old rival - at the 2015 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, Jiang Huihua won the first gold for the Chinese delegation in the women's weightlifting 48kg event, and the silver medalist at that time was Li Shengjin.
At the last Asian Games in Jakarta, Ri Seung-jin won the women's weightlifting 48kg championship, winning the first gold for the North Korean delegation.
"There are people in the audience who have been cheering for me and inspiring me today." At the post-match press conference, Lee Seung-kin thanked the North Korean spectators who cheered for themselves at the Xiaoshan Stadium, and she was also full of gratitude for the gold medal.
"Four years was a long time, I trained hard to improve my technique, and finally this gold medal paid me back. It is not easy to break the world record, and when I see the flag raised, I hope to bring this good news to our country and people as soon as possible. ”
Li Shengjin.
Can't stay in your comfort zone all the time
The North Korean weightlifting team has always been one of the main rivals of the Chinese team, but their first comeback on the international stage has been eye-catching.
Li Shengjin, like his teammates, has not played abroad in the past four years, and they all train and compete at home.
"My previous efforts were not in vain, and I did not live up to the expectations of my coach, my family and my country." Speaking of the planning for future Olympic participation, Li Shengjin did not give a definite answer, "Whether to participate in the Paris Olympics, I have no way to give an answer now." ”
Whether Li Shengjin competes in Paris or not, for the Chinese weightlifting team, the challenges from the outside world and the increasingly fierce competition cannot be ignored.
Despite her regrets, Jiang Hye-hwa believes that she also played her usual training level and is in good condition during the competition, but she did not fully anticipate the outbreak of the mysterious division North Korean weightlifting team.
Li Shengjin celebrates victory.
"For us in Chinese weightlifting, we can't stay in a comfort zone all the time, and only with competition can we make progress." The loss gave her more feelings, especially the world record twice in a short period of time, and she had never lifted her opponent's weight in jerk training, "I only lifted 123kg once in training. ”
The Paris Olympics are not far away, in addition to the fierce competition within the team, but also to face the challenges of the outside world, this competition also gave the weightlifting team the most timely reminder.
Jiang Huihua also said that she will try to challenge the jerk 125kg and 126kg, but what she needs to do now is to calm down, do a good job of herself, train hard every day, and strive to qualify for the Paris Olympics.