On April 6, the Weightlifting World Cup held the final of the men's 89kg class.
The men's 89kg category is not an Olympic event in Tokyo, but it is an Olympic event in Paris. In this event, the Chinese team has "double insurance": one is Li Dayin, who is ranked first in the Olympic qualifying round, and the current score is 396 kg, which is the world record, and the second is Tian Tao, the 96 kg champion in the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Unexpectedly, the Chinese team suffered a heavy defeat in this game.
Li Dayin succeeded in the first snatch with 173 kg, and then failed to lift 178 kg in the second and third attempts. Tian Tao successfully lifted 171 kg in his first attempt, 176 kg in his second attempt, and 177 kg in his third attempt.
Colombia's López broke the world record in the snatch with 182kg, while Bulgaria's Nassar lifted 181kg to finish in the top two in the snatch.
In the following clean and jerk competition, Li Dayin lifted 210 kg for the second time and failed the other two times.
And Tian Tao made a desperate gamble. After failing to lift 215kg in his first attempt, he lifted 226kg in two consecutive attempts. You know, the world record is only 223 kilograms.
Why is Tian Tao so resolute? Because his competitor is none other than his teammate Li Dayin. Because a country only allows one athlete to participate in one event, Tian Tao can only qualify for the Paris Olympics if he defeats Li Dayin. With only 171 kg in the snatch, he has to surpass Li Dayin's 396 kg and 226 kg in the clean and jerk.
In the end, Colombia's López won the gold medal in the snatch with a world record of 182 kilograms, while Bulgaria's Nasser won the gold medal in the clean and jerk with 215 kilograms and the gold medal in the total with 396 kilograms. China's Li Dayin only won the bronze medal in the snatch. Tian Tao won the 4th place in the snatch, but there was no result in the clean and jerk. China's "double insurance" has failed.
After Tian Tao's failure in the third clean and jerk, it means that he basically said goodbye to the Paris Olympics. After putting down the barbell, he was reluctant to leave on stage. After some spins, he kissed the barbell before leaving helplessly.
At the age of 30, he may never come back.
In fact, Li Dayin, who is still tied for first place in the Olympic qualifying round, is not 100% able to qualify for the Paris Olympics, because the Chinese team will participate in up to 3 of the 5 men's events in the Paris Olympics. But judging from the situation, Li Dayin has a good chance of participating.