Games-Indonesian strongman sets weightlifting world record in Hangzhou

HANGZHOU, China : Indonesia's star weightlifter Rahmat Erwin Abdullah set a world record in the men's 73kg clean and jerk of 201kg on his way to gold in the Asian Games on Tuesday, the latest weightlifting world record set in Hangzhou.

Multiple world champion and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Abdullah looked calm and confident throughout the final and his record came in his last lift of the competition at a time when his gold medal was already guaranteed.

The 22-year-old puffed out his cheeks as he completed the lift which beat his previous record of 200kg that he set last December and celebrated by flexing his muscles in a pose on stage for the cameras.

Abdullah finished the contest with a total 359kg lifted, just 5kg shy of the record set by China's Shi Zhiyong's in 2021. Thailand's Weeraphon Wichuman earned silver with 351kg and North Korea's Oh Kum Thaek took bronze with 344kg.

His success follows on from the three other world records set by North Korean weightlifters in recent days, including Kim Il Gyong, 20, who lifted 111kg in the snatch on her way to gold in the women's 59kg category on Monday.

In weightlifting competitions in Hangzhou athletes are put into categories according to their weight and then complete a snatch round and a clean and jerk round.

The rankings are determined by the aggregate of best lifts in snatch and clean and jerk.