ASTANA – Kazakh weightlifters earned three gold and three bronze medals at the recent 26th Senior Women’s and 45th Senior Men’s Asian Weightlifting Championships in Phuket, Thailand.
Rustem Sybai. Photo credit: zakon.kz
Kazakh athletes Yermek Omirtai, Aidar Kazov and Rustem Sybai won gold in the men’s 85 kg, 77 kg and 94 kg categories, respectively. Omirtai lifted 364 kg (161 kg + 203 kg) and had a failed try at lifting 206 kg. Sybai lifted 383 kg (167 kg + 216 kg), showing the best result in the jerk competition. Kazov lifted 350 kg (156 kg + 194 kg) as did his main rival from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, but Omirtai won the gold medal because he weighed less than his competitor, according to Vesti.kz.
Kazakhs Faina Sivanbayeva and Assem Sadykova won bronze in the women’s 63kg and 58kg category. Maira Faizullayeva lifted 226 kg – 101kg in the snatch and 125kg in the clean and jerk – and edged out Wan Ting Hung from Taipei. She became the last weightlifter from Kazakhstan to clinch bronze in Phuket.
The Amateur Weightlifting Association (TAWA) of Thailand hosted the Asian Weightlifting Championship from Sep. 3 through 12. The Asian Weightlifting Championships were held in Kazakhstan in Almaty, Taldykorgan and Astana in 2004, 2009 and 2013.
The Asian Weightlifting Championships is a weightlifting championship for athletes from Asian countries that is organised by the Asian Weightlifting Federation. It was established in 1971 and in 2008 the championships provided the official qualification for Asian competitors in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
