NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Yang Yang won the men's 60kg weightlifting gold on Thursday, giving China first medal in the sport at the 2026 Asian Games, while the day's highlight came from a snatch world record from China's He Yueji in the mens' 65kg division.
In the 65kg final, He managed a new snatch world record of 152kg, but had to settle for a silver as he had only 175kg in the clean and jerk. The title went to DPR Korea's Pak Myong Jin.
Pak, who took the 61kg silver at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, lifted 146kg in the snatch and 182kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 328kg. Vietnam's Tran Minh Tri had the bronze with 309kg.
In the men's 60kg, Yang, 23, lifted 138kg in the snatch and 166kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 304kg, a Games record. All six of his attempts were successful.
"My legs were shaking when I watched my opponent's final lift," the Games debutant said. "I was more nervous than when I was on the platform by myself."
Yang built an 11kg lead after the snatch, then applied a steady game plan in the clean and jerk.
"Our coach told us to play it safe, step by step," he said. "The tactics worked really well. I just treated this like a regular training session," added Yang.
Pang Un Chol of DPR Korea took silver with 301kg, while Thailand's Theerapong Silachai, the 2024 Olympic silver medalist, finished third on 299kg. Both failed in their final attempts when challenging world records. ■
