Asian Weightlifting Championships: Harjinder Kaur wins bronze in snatch

India’s Harjinder Kaur secured a bronze medal in the snatch event of the women’s 69kg category on Day 5 of the Asian Weightlifting Championships, taking place in Gandhinagar from May 11 to 17.

India was in action in two categories on the day – men’s 88kg Group B through Abhishek Suresh Nipane and women’s 69kg Group A through Harjinder Kaur.

Abhishek had an underwhelming start in snatch, managing just one successful attempt of 139kg while failing to clear 142kg and 144kg in his next two lifts.

He, however, bounced back strongly in clean and jerk, with all three lifts being successful. Abhishek lifted 177kg in his opening attempt, followed by 183kg and 187kg in his final attempt, finishing third in clean and jerk in Group B.

Since he competed in Group B, Abhishek was not awarded a medal as the final standings were to be decided after the completion of Group A and the combined overall results. Group A consisted of lifters with the highest entry weights.

The Indian lifter finished the competition with a total lift of 326kg (139kg + 187kg), finishing fifth in the category.

Tajikistan’s Gaygysyz Torayev finished first with a total of 350kg (153kg + 197kg), while South Korea’s Daehee Jo secured second with 347kg (157kg + 190kg) and Chinese Taipei’s Hsun-Pin Huang took third with 342kg (157kg + 185kg).

In the women’s 69kg category, Harjinder started strongly in snatch with a smooth 93kg lift in her opening attempt. She failed to clear 96kg in her second attempt but successfully lifted it in her final attempt to secure bronze in snatch.

Chinese Taipei’s Huei-Wen Chen won silver with 104kg, while North Korea’s Kuk Hyangsong claimed gold with a lift of 112kg in snatch.

Harjinder then registered three successful lifts in clean and jerk – 115kg, 118kg, and 121kg – to finish with a total lift of 217kg (96kg + 121kg), ending fourth overall, just two kilograms behind a podium finish.

Japan’s Yui Miyagoe secured overall bronze with 219kg (94kg + 125kg), while Huei-Wen Chen claimed silver with 239kg (104kg + 135kg). North Korea’s Kuk Hyangsong won gold with a total lift of 263kg (112kg + 151kg).