Indian contingent draws blank in Asian Weightlifting Championships at Tashkent

Tashkent [Uzbekistan], February 8 (ANI): The Indian weightlifting contingent consisting of Gyaneshwari Yadav, Ditimoni Sonowal and Valluri Ajaya Babu failed to secure a medal in the Asian Weightlifting Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from February 3 onwards.
The competition will go on till February 10. Gyaneshwari Yadav participated in the women's 49kg Olympic event, Ditimoni Sonowal and Valluri Ajaya Babu were a part of the non-Olympic weight categories.
Performing a total lift of 178kg - 79 in snatch and 99kg in clean and jerk - Gyaneshwari secured an eighth-place finish after she failed in her third attempt at lifting 81kg in snatch and 102kg in clean and jerk on Sunday.
Athletes competing in this tournament will get to earn Olympic Qualification Rankings (OQR) in Olympic weight classes. The points will be based on the best total results athletes get in qualifying competitions.
The top 10 weightlifters based on OQR, which will have the highest-ranked athletes per country in each weight category, will secure Olympic quotas for Paris 2024 for national teams after the qualification cycle ends in April.
The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Mirabai Chanu, who is also the Commonwealth Games champion in the 49 kg category, gave the event a skip.
North Korea's secured the gold in women's 49kg category and established a world record in her category, with a lift of 220kg - 95kg in snatch and a world record 125kg in clean and jerk. She was 29 kg clear of Japan's Rira Suzuki who got the silver medal, and lifted 191 kg. Philippines' Rosegie Ramos lifted 190kg in total for her bronze medal.
In the non-Olympic women's 64 kg category, Ditimoni Sonowal earned a fourth-place finish with 194 kg lift, 83kg in snatch and 111kg in clean and jerk - on Tuesday. The gold was bagged by Ri Suk following a 253kg lift for North Korea. Chinese Taipei's Li Wei-Chia (203kg) and Park Min-kyung of the Republic of Korea (202kg) got silver and bronze medals as well.
On Wednesday, Valluri Ajaya Babu earned a sixth-spot finish in the men's 81 kg category, with a combined lift of 297kg - 137kg in snatch and 160kg in clean and jerk. The gold was bagged by Ri Chong Song following a lift of 369kg - 169kg in snatch and 200kg in clean and jerk. Kazakhstan's Alexandr Uvarov took home the silver with 343kg and Gaygysyz Torayev of Turkmenistan bagged the bronze with a total lift of 337kg. (ANI)