China wins 2nd Olympic gold with Hou's victory in weightlifting women's 49kg

TOKYO - Chinese weightlifter Hou Zhihui set Olympic records to win the women's 49kg title at Tokyo 2020 here on Saturday.

Hou lifted an Olympic record 116kg in the clean and jerk for a winning total of 210kg, also a new Olympic record.

This is the first gold medal in weightlifting and the second for the Chinese delegation at the Tokyo Olympics.

Saikhom Mirabai of India took the silver with 202kg, and Cantika Aisah of Indonesia got the bronze with 194kg.

With an Olympic-record lift of 94kg in the snatch, the 24-year-old Hou kept her own rhythm, calling 109kg, 114kg and 116kg respectively in her three attempts in the clean and jerk and easily making it for the title.

Mirabai, who trailed Hou by 7kg after the snatch, settled for second place after failing to lift 117kg in her third clean and jerk attempt.

In April's Asian Championships in Tashkent, Hou set two world marks to win the snatch and total golds, while Mirabai renewed Chinese lifter Jiang Huihua's world record to 119kg for the clean and jerk title.