Sport - Asian Games   

Ruiping rewrites world records

By A. Vinod

BUSAN Oct. 7. The Indian challenge in the weightlifting events of the 14th Asian Games came to a sad end at the Pukyong National University gymnasium on Monday when its last entrant, Shailaja Pujari, could finish only fifth in a field of six in the women's 75-kg category with a total of 222.5 kg.

Overall, it was a poor outing for India, which had five lifters including four women in the fray, as it went without a medal and looked far removed from the current international scene.

Shailaja, the Commonwealth Games gold-medallist in the event, failed to make any impact as she lifted 95-kg in the snatch and 127.5 kg in the clean and jerk. Only Rika Saito of Japan trailed the 20-year-old Indian, who had just one good lift in snatch and two in clean and jerk.

Otherwise, there was no shortage of excitement as Sun Ruiping of China, challenged at least initially by Kazakhstan's Tatyana Khromova, came up with a sizzling show of brute power and strength and in the process also going past the existing world record in snatch and clean and jerk and thereby the total.

The Chinese and the Kazakh lifter had identical clean lifts of 110-kg and 115-kg through the first two rounds of snatch before Sun Ruiping took her chance and went on to clear 118.5 to erase Tang Weifang's world record of 116 kg. Khromova, on her part, finished with a lift of 118-kg, she too bettering the world-record.

However, none of the others in the field could challenge the 21-year-old Chinese in the clean and jerk. Ruiping, who started off with a lift of 140-kg, was to knock the 142.5-kg world record of compatriot Sun Tianni in the second round itself, clearing 145-kg. Ruiping, then, had an astounding 152.5 lift in the third as she posted a total of 270 kg to obliterate Tianni's world record of 257.5 by an amazing 12.5-kg.

Khromova took the silver with a total of 257.5-kg, a good 15-kg more than the eventual bronze-medallist Kim Soon-Hee, who had the support of the large turnout all along.

Later, however, the crowd had a lot to cheer as Song Jong-Shik went on to win the men's 85-kg title after the favourite Shahin Nasiri of Iran was knocked off from the competition following his failure to clear his opening weight of 170 kg in snatch.

The 26-year-old Korean who had cleared 167.5-kg in snatch and 205-kg in clean and jerk had a winning total of 372.5-kg as he finished ahead of Iran's second entry, Langerudi Panizvan and Uzbekistan's Bahtiyor Nurullayev.

The results:

Men: 1. Song Jong-Shik (Kor), (167.5, 205; 372.5), 2. Langerudi Panizvan (Iran), (167.5, 200; 367.5), 3. Bahtiyor Nurullayev (Uzb), (165, 200; 365).

Women: 1. Sun Ruiping (Chn), (117.5, 152.5; 270), 2. Tatyana Khromova (Kaz), (117.5, 140; 257.5), 3. Kim Soon-Hee (Kor), (102.5, 140; 242.5).

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Asian Games

• Heart-break for Jaspal Rana
• India takes off on Anju's golden leap
• India moves up three places
• Medal tally
• Ruiping rewrites world records
• DD does it again
• Korea humiliates India
• India makes it a no contest
• Paes-Bhupathi pair back in business
• Palwinder bags bronze
  
  Chess
  
• Stage set for exciting finish
• India gets two more entries
  
  Cricket
  
• Hooper enjoys his new role as skipper
• Ganguly, Dravid & Wright honoured
  
  

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