2025 Asian Weightlifting Championships Day 3: Records Fall and Regional Rivals Rise in Jiangshan
The third day of the 2025 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Jiangshan, China, delivered yet another round of electrifying performances across three A-group sessions. With Olympic champions, emerging talents, and seasoned contenders on the platform, the competition saw continental records fall and fierce battles for supremacy unfold across the women’s 59 kg and 64 kg categories, and the men’s 73 kg division.
Women’s 59 kg Category: Consistency and Power Define the Podium
In a tightly contested women’s 59 kg category featuring eight athletes, North Korea’s Kim Il Gyong demonstrated surgical precision in both segments. She captured snatch gold with a powerful 103 kg lift, followed closely by Thailand’s Yodsarn Suratwadee (99 kg) and Vietnam’s Quang Thi Tam (98 kg).
The clean & jerk standings reflected a subtle shift, with Kim Il Gyong once again on top, hoisting 132 kg for a second gold. Yodsarn maintained her silver-medal form with 126 kg, while Kuo Hsing-Chun of Chinese Taipei—2020 Tokyo Olympic Champion—vaulted into third with a 125 kg lift, securing clean & jerk bronze.
The total standings mirrored the clean & jerk podium: Kim clinched overall gold with a commanding 235 kg, Yodsarn took silver (225 kg), and Kuo secured the bronze (220 kg). Kim’s flawless showing reasserted her place among Asia’s elite, while Kuo’s return to the continental podium signaled her enduring strength.
Women’s 64 kg Category: Chinese Dominance and Philippine Resilience
The women’s 64 kg category featured eleven lifters and showcased China’s Li Shuang, who swept all three gold medals in dominant fashion. She led the snatch with 105 kg, followed by the Philippines’ Elreen Ann Ando (102 kg) and South Korea’s Mun Minhee (94 kg).
In the clean & jerk, Li delivered again, lifting 134 kg for the segment gold. Ando secured another silver with 130 kg, while Mun rounded out the podium with 120 kg. The totals confirmed the dominance: Li Shuang claimed gold with 239 kg, Ando followed with 232 kg for silver, and Mun Minhee secured bronze with 214 kg.
Li Shuang’s clean sweep highlighted China’s depth, while Ando’s double silver marked a significant achievement for the Philippines, reinforcing her status as a Southeast Asian contender to watch.
Men’s 73 kg Category: Record-Breaking Heroics and Historic Heights
The men’s 73 kg division brought the crowd to its feet with a historic performance from Abdullah Rahmat of Indonesia. After leading the snatch with 155 kg, ahead of Turkmenistan’s Bunyad Rashidov (150 kg) and Bektimur Reyimov (148 kg), Abdullah etched his name into the record books.
In a sensational clean & jerk segment, Abdullah lifted 205 kg, setting new Asian and World Records. His total of 360 kg secured all three gold medals and marked one of the most outstanding performances of the championships so far.
China’s Wu Haifeng took clean & jerk silver with 189 kg, earning overall silver with 334 kg. Kazakhstan’s Petr Khrebtov, who was fifth in the snatch, staged an impressive comeback with a 187 kg clean & jerk to claim bronze in both the segment and total (333 kg).
