 Powerhouse duo to offer stiff competition
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-12 08:58 Weightlifting powerhouse China will be sending two lifters in the men's 69kg division today. Star lifter Shi Zhiyong is going for his second Olympic gold today alongside compatriot Liao Hui. Under the Olympic rules that limit each National Olympic Committee to a maximum of four lifters each for the men's and women's event, this is the only event that sees powerhouse China sending two lifters.
Following his triumph in the men's 56kg at the Athens Games, Shi upgraded to the 69kg division in Beijing. The 21-year-old Liao edged out defending Olympic champion Zhang Guozheng in the domestic Olympic qualification competition after he lifted an amazing total of 355kg. Russian Svetlana Tsarukaeva and Pak Hyon Suk of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are expected to present fierce competition in the women's 63kg class. China has dominated the division since 2004, but Armenian Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan came from nowhere to claim the title in the European Championships this year with a total of 346kg. Martirosyan and Athen's runner-up Lee Bae-young will be a strong challenge to the Chinese duo. In the women's 63kg, which China did not enter, Svetlana Tsarukaeva will aim for Russia's first weightlifting gold medal. She won the silver medal in the 2007 World Championship in Chiang Mai, Thailand, with 250kg. With the absence of Chinese world champion Liu Haixia, Tsarukaeva is the hot title favorite as her 250kg result was well beyond the capability of other lifters. Tsarukaeva's main rivals will include Pak Hyon-suk, bronze medalist of last year's world championship, and a pair of Kazakhstan dark horses - Irina Nekrassova and Maya Maneza, who both claimed 241 entry total weights, topping all 20 qualifiers. "All our women lifters hold the hope for medals," said Baturbek Ozdoev, coach of the Kazakhstan women's team. Xinhua (China Daily 08/12/2008 page26) |
