Doha, Qatar: The combined Qatar International Weightlifting Cup, Arab Championships and West Asia Championships continue to deliver standout performances at the Ezdan Palace Hotel.
Yesterday’s highlight came in the men’s 79kg category, where North Korea’s Ri Chong Song set a new world record in the total with 366kg, surpassing the previous mark by 1kg and winning all three gold medals.
Ri Chong Song lifted 162kg in the snatch and 204kg in the clean and jerk.
Tunisia’s Karim Ben Hnia, Jaiygeziz Turaev and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Bassam Al Marzouq shared the remaining medals in the category.
Song’s achievement follows that of fellow North Korean lifter O Kang Ok, who earlier set a world record in the women’s 58kg category.
In the men’s Arab Championship events, Hnia captured three gold medals, with 151kg (snatch) and 185kg (clean and jerk) for a total of 363kg.
Al Marzouq finished second with three silver medals 150kg (snatch), 178kg (clean and jerk) and 328kg (total).
Algerian lifter Farajallah Samir took bronze medals in the snatch at 140kg and the total at 310kg, while Egypt’s Ali Abdelradi Mohamed won bronze in the clean and jerk lifting 175kg.
Saudi Arabia continued to dominate the youth and junior events, highlighted by Mohammed Bassam Al Marzouq’s clean sweep of three gold medals in the youth category. Saudi lifters also topped the junior men’s 79kg standings through Ali Majed, while Egypt’s Ali Abdelradi Mohamed secured clean and jerk gold. Yemen’s Yazan Nasr Ali Ahmed and the UAE’s Saeed Ghassab Al Hajri completed the podium places across the categories.
The West Asia events produced a strong Saudi showing, led by Al Marzouq, who swept three gold medals in the men’s 79kg category. Saudi Arabia also dominated the youth and junior divisions through Al Marzouq and Yousef Al Bahrani, while Bahrain, the UAE, Oman, Yemen, and Syria shared the remaining medals.
In the women’s 63kg Arab Championship, Tunisia’s Shaimaa Rahoumi claimed three gold medals ahead of Egypt’s Hager Rashdy and the UAE’s May Madani. Rashdy went on to secure triple gold medals in both the youth and junior categories. At the West Asia Championship, Emirati lifter May Madani topped the women’s 63kg podium with three gold medals, as Saudi and Jordanian lifters collected multiple podium finishes across age groups.
