Games-North Korea's Ri breaks world records en route to third Asian Games gold


NAGOYA, JAPAN, ⁠Sept 23 (Reuters) - North Korean weightlifterRi Song Gum broke three ⁠world records en route to winning her third Asian ‌Games gold medal on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old, who also won gold in 2023 at the Games in Hangzhou and in 2018 at Jakarta-Palembang, lifted 94 kg in ​the snatch segment in Nagoya, 1 ⁠kg more than the previous ⁠world mark.

She followed that up with a clean-and-jerk of 121 kg, ⁠bettering ‌the previous best of 120 kg.

Her total haul of 215 kg eclipsed the previous benchmark by 4 ⁠kg.

The gold in the women's 49 kg category was ​North Korea's ‌first of the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

"The world record and this gold ⁠medal hold ​great meaning for me, because of everything I poured into this competition," Ri said.

“I stepped out onto the competition floor today carrying that ⁠faith and those expectations."

Tokyo Olympics silver ​medallist Mirabai Chanu of India was runner-up with a total lift of 198 kg. The 32-year-old, a three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, ⁠had failed to medal in her two previous Asian Games appearances.

"There was pressure, but not that much pressure that I could not win a medal," Mirabai said.

"I had the belief in me ​that I would be able to win. ⁠There were expectations, people who believed in me: my coaches, ​my support staff, and I made sure ‌to win a medal for my ​country."

Indonesia'sLuluk Diana Tri Wijayana took bronze with 191 kg.

(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in Nagoya; editing by Peter Rutherford)

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