The Asian Youth and Junior Championships in Qatar featured seven age-group world records and a classic showdown in the men’s 102kg, bringing to a close a memorable year for the world’s strongest weightlifting continent.
The final tally of youth, junior and senior world records set in 2024 by Asian weightlifters is 65, of which 37 were by women and 28 by men. The rest of the world mustered 21 between them.
At the IWF World Championships in Bahrain in early December, PRK and China led the way as Asian athletes took more than 80 per cent of the medals. China unearthed an array of new talent, sending a largely junior team which came home with plenty of medals and senior world records.
The average age of PRK’s 17 medal winners in Bahrain was under 23. PRK and China – with help from a strong Kazakhstan team – sent a clear message in Bahrain that the next generation of Asian talent is on the way.
In the absence of PRK and China, neither of which sent a team, that message was underlined in Qatar by athletes from Turkmenistan, Iran, Chinese Taipei, Vietnam, Iraq, Thailand and Uzbekistan.
In the best session of the Championships, the men’s 102kg, gold and silver medallists both broke junior world records and finished first and second in the individual rankings.
Shahzadbek Matyakubov from Turkmenistan rounded off a busy three months in style to overcome the strong challenge of Alireza Nasiri from Iran.
In September, 20-year-old Matyakubov won the junior world title in Spain with a 391kg total. He bombed out in clean and jerk in Bahrain when well placed to win a medal, then returned to form two weeks later in Qatar with a six-from-six 177-219-396.
Nasiri made five of his attempts, taking Matyakubov’s junior world records in clean and jerk and total when he finished 171-218-389. Those records lasted about a minute before Matyakubov took them back again. Nasiri, 19, was sixth in Bahrain despite making only two good lifts.
Vietnam’s Department of Sport and Physical Exercise announced this month that weightlifting would benefit from special funding for development and coaching. The team’s efforts in Qatar showed why the authorities are keen to support the sport.
Vietnam dominated the lighter men’s categories, winning at 55kg, 61kg and 67kg. K Duong claimed a sweep of youth world records in stretching his unbeaten run to six since he first appeared in international competition in 2022.
The 17-year-old made 116-146-262, up 9kg on his previous best, to finish ahead of team-mate Do Tu Tung. Another 17-year-old, A Tieu, won youth and junior titles at 61kg on 122-149-271, while the 67kg junior title went to Tran Minh Tri on 141-171-312. With two gold medals for its women, Vietnam finished top of the overall medals table.
Other leading men’s performers included Ali Ammar Yusur from Iraq, who became the first junior super-heavyweight to total 450kg-plus in Bahrain. This time Ali Ammar needed only his openers on 180-226 to secure victory, declining his other four attempts.
Bekzod Gofirjonov from Uzbekistan set a youth clean and jerk world record at 89kg in making 154-19-348 for the youth title.
Chen Guan-Ling from Chinese Taipei was rated top individual women’s performer by more than 200 Robi points. Chen has set four junior world records at 55kg since September, and it would have been more if she had not failed with her final snatch attempt at 99kg.
The junior world champion, who was second in Bahrain, finished 94-120-214, a better total than the 59kg and 64kg winners.
Thailand had three of the top 10 women in the individual rankings – the 45kg winner Khemika Kamnoesdsri on 74-90-164, 59kg champion Thanaporn Saetia on 96-115-211, and Natcha Kaewnoi, who was 22kg behind Chen in third place at 55kg.
Asian athletes will have more chances to set even more world records before the new weight categories begin from June. The IWF Youth and Junior World Championships are held concurrently in Lima, Peru from April 30-May 5, and the senior Asian Championships are in Jiangshan, China from May 9-15.
