Ri Song Gum Sets Three World Records to Win Asian Games Gold

Sports Correspondent: Imran Sohail

NAGOYA: North Korean weightlifter Ri Song Gum produced a record-breaking performance on Wednesday, winning the women’s 49kg gold medal at the Asian Games and setting three new world records.

Ri opened the competition with a 94kg snatch, surpassing the previous world record of 93kg by one kilogramme.

She then broke the clean and jerk record of 115kg twice. Ri successfully lifted 116kg before raising the mark again to 121kg.

Her combined total of 215kg was seven kilogrammes above the previous world record, securing the gold medal and giving North Korea its first title of the Asian Games.

India’s Mirabai Chanu, a silver medallist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, earned her first Asian Games medal after recording a total of 198kg. She lifted 87kg in the snatch and 111kg in the clean and jerk.

Indonesia’s Diana Tri Wijayana claimed the bronze medal with a total of 191kg, including an 88kg snatch and a 103kg clean and jerk.

The victory also placed Ri among an exclusive group of weightlifters who have won three Asian Games gold medals. She became the first woman to achieve the feat.

Ri joined Iran’s Mohammad Nassiri, South Korea’s Kim Tae-hyun and Iran’s Behdad Salimi, who each won three Asian Games weightlifting titles between 1966 and 2018.

No weightlifter has yet won four Asian Games gold medals.