Indian lifters fail to impress at Asiad

Indian weightlifters began their Asian Games campaign on a disappointing note as all three participating contestants finished at the bottom half of the table in their respective categories in both men's and women's divisions at the Moonlight Festival Garden Weightlifting Venue here Saturday.

In the women's 48 kg category, Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu and Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, the gold and silver medallists at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, finished 10th and ninth respectively out of 13 lifters.

Mirabai lifted a total of 75 kg in snatch and 96 kg in clean and jerk for an overall effort of 171 kg. Sanjita lifted a total of 166 kg (73+93).

Kazakhstan's Margarita Yelisseyeva won gold, Sri Wahyuni Agustiani of Indonesia bagged silver while Togoeva Mahliyo of Uzbekistan lifted bronze in the category.

Sukhen Dey, another Commonwealth Games gold medallist, finished 12th among 14 lifters in the men's 56 kg category. Sukhen ended fifth in his group of six lifters with a total of 242 kg (106+136).

North Korea's Om Yun Chol set a new Asian Games record lifting a total weight of 298 kg to win gold. He lifted 128 kg in snatch and a world record 170 kg in clean and jerk. Vietnam's Thach Kim Tua (total of 294 kg) won silver and China's Wu Jingbiao (288 kg) clinched bronze in the 56 kg category.