India in action on opening day of Weightlifting World Championships

Young Indian prospect Jhilli Dalabehera bowed out of the 2019 IWF World Championships in Pattaya with just one valid clean and jerk attempt in the 45kg category .

Starting her competition with a 68kg attempt in snatch, the 19-year-old lifter failed to get a clear lift in all of her three attempts that all but ruled her out of the competition.

Later in the clean and jerk, she managed 88kg in her first lift but subsequently failed in the following two while attempting 92kg and 93kg, respectively.

Winning moments

Meanwhile, Turkey’s Saziye Erdogan won the gold with a lift of 169kg (77+92). The gold medallist at the European Championships, Erdogan started her day with a 73kg lift in her first attempt in the snatch. Thereafter, she raised the bar to 75kg in the second and then managed 77kg in her third to end the segment on top of the charts.

While Cuba’s Ludia Montero stayed at Erdogan’s heels, lifting 76kg in the snatch, she could never go past her when the clean and jerk came along.

Erdogan started the clean and jerk with a 90kg lift and then managed 92kg in her second before failing at 96kg in her final shot. Montero, meanwhile, could only manage 88kg and 91kg in her two valid lifts that saw her settle for a silver with a total of 167kg. 

Valiant effort

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Lisa Setiawati pulled off a fine show to lift herself from the seventh spot in the snatch to grab bronze by the time the clean and jerk concluded. 

The 30-year-old lifter could only manage a valid lift of 70kg in the snatch, but that didn’t deter her as she came out in full force in the second half and went on to have a fine time in the clean and jerk. 

Setiawati began with 93kg in her first lift and then eased through 95kg in her second. Though her attempt at 97kg was ruled invalid, she had already done enough to land the bronze medal in the category.

Korean delight

Meanwhile, in the men’s 55kg category, the reigning world champion**,** Om Yun Chol once again proved why he is champion as he defended his title, setting a new world record in clean and jerk in the process.

The North Korean won the gold with a total lift of 294kg (128+166), 28kg clear of his nearest competitor Igor Son of Kazakhstan, who took the silver with 266kg (120+146). In the clean and jerk, Yun Chol bettered his own world mark of 162kg with a lift of 166kg in the third.

Mansour Abdulrahim Al Saleem of Saudi Arabia completed the podium with a lift of 265kg (118+147).