The 2012 Asian Weightlifting Championships
The Men
56 kg
THACH Kim TUAN (VIE) moves under 145 kg . Charniga photo.
This class featured a tight competition between LI Fabin (CHN), TRAN Le Quoc Toan (VIE) and Setaidi Jadi (INA).
Setaidi Jadi opened first with 117 kg for fast low squat lift. TRAN Le Quoc Toan followed with his first at 121 which was a very fast drop under the bar into a low squat. LI Fabin took the same weight and made a slow pull followed by a deep squat for easy opener. Setaidi Jadi pulled 121 fast on his second, jumped back but the bar’s inertia kept going for a miss. THACH Kim Tuan, the other entry from Vietnam, opened with a very smooth jump back lift at 122 kg.
A very lean Ji Guohua (CHN) opened at 122 kg. He jumped back but the bar drifted backward for no lift. JI lifted the 2nd like the first; the weight was fixed in a deep squat but drifted back. JI fixed 122 again, held it for a few seconds, then dropped it forward. So, he was out.
Setaidi Jadi took a chance by jumping to 123 and made it, so he moved into first place. TRAN Le Quoc Toan went to 124 kg for a very fast pull and a fast very low squat to make this without even taking a step in the recovery. THACH Kim Tuan (VIE), who looks tall enough to be lifting in the 69 kg, made another fast pull and deep squat success with his 2nd at 124 kg. LI Fabin made another slow pull deep squat snatch with 125 kg on his 2nd to move into first.
TRAN Le Quoc Toan made a picture perfect fast pull low squat with 126 for his 3rd to take the lead. THACH Kim Tuan pulled slow and sat slow, but his 3rd with 126 kg would not go. LI Fabin made another slow pull, slow deep squat with 126 kg for his third good lift to take the final lead in the snatch which had changed hands so many times.
THACH Kim Tuan opened with 145. He cleaned with a struggle but jerked well for a good lift. . TRAN Le Quoc Toan cleaned 150 kg well, waited long then jerked well behind the head.
Li Fabin cleaned 150 slowly, but made a good jerk with his 150 kg opener. THACH Kim Tuan went to 150 kg and got ¾ way up but had to drop it. Taking the same weight on his 3rd THACH cleaned well but the jerk was uncoordinated. Apparently he injured his knee because he had to be helped off the platform by three coaches.
Ji Guohua (CHN) continued in the clean and jerk. His opener with 151 was a slow clean, followed by a slow, straight jerk. Setaidi Jadi (INA) opted for 151 kg on his 2nd. He cleaned all right, but his jerk was turned down for press out. TRAN made an easy clean of 153, waited a long time, then make a good jerk. Li Fabin went to 153 kg 2nd for a smooth clean and wide scissors for good jerk.
Setaidi Jadi (INA) executed a very easy clean and very wide split, with no steps, for a good jerk. Ji Guohua (CHN) went to 154 kg with a smooth clean, easy jerk. TRAN jerking with a wide grip got 155 kg overhead but is turned down 2 to 1. LI Fabin went to 155 kg on his 3rd and pulled it in, bounced 3 or 4 times, but he could not recover.
Ji Guohua (CHN) jumped to 160 kg for his 3rd. He cleaned with a struggle, jerked it to arms length, held it for a second, then dropped it for no lift.
Five professionals competed in this session. Three jerked 153 kg and one 154 kg. LI Fabin totaled 279 to win on bodyweight with third place at 276. A very good, close competition.
62 kg
CHEN Hongqing 135 kg snatch. Charniga photo.
CHEN Hongqing (CHN), HASBI Muhamod (INA) and JI Hun – Min (KOR) were the three favorites in this class.
HASBI Muhamad (INA) was the first to appear in the snatch with 130 kg. HASBI made a fast pull followed by a fast and very deep squat but the barbell’s inertia caused him to lose it backward. HASBI jumped to 131 kg on his 2nd. He pulled the weight with a jump back to a low squat but this time fought to keep the weight from drifting back for a good lift. CHEN Hongqing (CHN) dropped very fast under a 1st attempt 132 kg. CHEN Hongqing took 135 for his 2nd and made another smooth almost silent lift with this weight.
HASBI Muhamad made a fast pull and a fast drop with 135, but it was not fixed and fell forward. CHEN Hongqing tried to lever up 137 kg on his third, but it was too far back in the squat and he lost it. HASBI Muhamad cleaned his opener 160 kg with a big jump backward; he took a long time to jerk for a fairly easy lift. CHEN Hongqing’s 1st attempt was 165 kg. He made a slow clean, paused with open palms and then jerked it in a low squat style. HASBI Muhamadtook took 166 kg to move into the lead in the jerk. He jumped back and sat very low. He started to lose his balance backwards in the squat but rocked forward and struggled mightily to stand with the weight. Without losing his composure, HASBI stood there for what seemed and interminable amount of time, but the tactic paid off when he made a fine jerk with this weight.
CHEN Hongqing made another smooth clean with his 2nd at 169 kg and once again performed a deep squat jerk; he had to sit for several seconds to get his balance before standing. HASBI Muhamad’s 3rd with 170 kg was way too heavy as he failed to fix the weight on his chest. CHEN Hongqing had the final attempt of the session with 172 kg. He pulled the weight to his chest, paused to bounce and then stood with difficulty. This time the barbell dropped forward as he descended into the deep squat position of his jerk.
69 kg
LIU Weihuang (CHN) missing 149 kg snatch. Charniga photo.
Two Iranians and two Chinese were expected to battle for the gold in this class. Berhrouzi Sajad (IRI), REZAEIAN Morteza (IRI), SHI Zhiyong (CHN) and LIU Weihuang (CHN) looked very close on paper and that is how the class transpired.
SHI Zhiyong was the first one to come out in the snatch. He made a fast power snatch with 130 kg. He went to 137 on his 2nd and made another very fast pull but a lower squat for a good lift. REZAEIAN Morteza (IRI) opened with 141 kg. He made this with a slow pull and a deep squat with slight jump forward. Berhrouzi Sajad (IRI) took 143 kg for his 1st attempt. He made a fast pull and jump forward lift with this weight.
LIU Weihuang (CHN) was the last of the favorites to start with 144 kg. Using a lot of upper body strength, he jumped forward and squatted fast and low for an easy lift. SHI Zhiyong made another fast lift with 144 kg, 14 kg more than his opening weight. REZAEIAN Morteza went to 146 for his 2nd which was a nice lift with a low squat. However, he suddenly lost control of the barbell in the standing position and had to drop it. He seemed to have this weight on his third, but it was not quite fixed and the barbell dropped in front.
Berhrouzi Sajad hopped forward and sank low with 148 on his 2nd. LIU Weihuang was turned down for press out on his 2nd with 149. The jury overruled the officials on this attempt. He over pulled the same weight on his third attempt and dropped it behind. Berhrouzi Sajad deadlifted 151 on his 3rd.
SHI Zhiyong power cleaned then squat jerked to a half squat 170 kg. Berhrouzi Sajad jerked his 175 kg 1st attempt forward but managed to step under to save the lift. LIU Weihuang muscled his opening jerk of 176 kg after a slow clean. LIU has a lot in common with most of the top Chinese men who lift more on strength than technique. REZAEIAN Morteza struggled to clean 177 on his 2nd; then, he struggled even more to fix the jerk by crossing one foot over the other in the process.
SHI Zhiyong almost power cleaned 180 kg; then moving his hands out on the bar, he squat jerked it to about a half squat before dumping the barbell forward. Berhrouzi Sajad went to 180 to take a commanding lead but struggled to clean it; then, he jerked the barbell way too far forward. LIU Weihuang muscled 180 to his chest then stood with the barbell slightly off his chest. He took a step back then jerked the barbell forward but muscled it back behind his head for a good lift.
SHI Zhiyong repeated with 180 kg on his 3rd. This time he cleaned the weight very easy descending to just about parallel; then, he jerked the barbell by descending to about parallel but pushed it well behind his head for a good lift. Berhrouzi Sajad, with a four kilo lead in the snatch, had a chance to put the competition away with his 3rd at 180. He cleaned it well with a slight hop forward, jerked the barbell with a wide split but dropped it behind. LIU Weihuang took 181 to go for the lead. He muscled the clean, then tried to muscle the forward jerk behind his head but the weight fell forward.
77 kg
Rahkatov Nursultan (KAZ) with 153 kg snatch. Charniga photo.
Alimov Ulugbek (UZB), Rahkatov Nursultan (KAZ), Meredov Aman (TKM) and Jundubayev Medet (KAZ) were the top guys in this weight class.
Meredov Aman (TKM) opened with 139 which looked like a very smooth efficient lift, but he dropped it behind. Alimov Ulugbek (UZB) followed him with an explosive hop forward snatch of 140 kg. Meredov Aman chose to jump to 141 instead of repeating, and he ended up repeating his miss of 139 when he dropped the weight behind. A taller and very lean Rahkatov Nursultan (KAZ), lifting with a modern fast pull, made a jump back, explosive power snatch with 145 kg. Lifting out of order because of a glitch, Meredov Aman took another now or nothing jump to 144 kg and this time fixed the weight in the right spot in the deep squat before recovering for a good lift.
Alimov Ulugbek took the old standard increase to 145 kg. After a fast pull and a hop forward, he seemed to have the lift but his right arm buckled. Mamadramov Aidar (KGZ) made a slow pull and slow descent with 145, ultimately not close. Alimov Ulugbek hopped forward more than the last attempt but succeeded with is 3rd at 145 kg. Rahkatov Nursultan went to 150 kg on his 2nd. This was another jump back, almost power snatch. Rahkatov Nursultan moved into an 8 kg lead with another fast but not bottomed out lift with 153 kg.
Meredov Aman opened with an almost power clean 165 kg followed by a very shaky jerk. Jundubayev Medet (KAZ) took the same weight and managed a good jerk after a struggle to clean it. Meredov Aman went to 170 on his 2nd made a better clean and even a better jerk than his first. Jundubayev Medet followed with the same weight. He pulled it way forward, struggled mightily to stand; then, he jerked way forward but somehow muscled himself under bar for a good lift.
Jundubayev Medet took 171 to move ahead of Meredov. He made another hard clean and jerk that was way forward, tried to step under it, but, to no avail. Meredov Aman made a hard clean with 174, then rushed to jerk it for a miss. Rahkatov Nursultan made a fast jump back clean and fast, compact jerk with 175 kg.
Down eight kilos in the snatch, Alimov Ulugbek opened with 180 to pick up five kilos on Rahkatov. He made a fast clean but stumbled backwards a little on the recovery, then made an explosive jerk. Rahkatov Nursultan went to 182 kg. He pulled the weight in, but it knocked him backwards a little. After a big struggle to stand, he appeared to jerk well but was turned down. He repeated with this weight; this time jerking it after a big struggle in the clean to move ahead by 10 kg. Alimov Ulugbek went to 190 kg for his 2nd. He made another fast jump forward, explosive clean, stumbled backward a little and then made a very careful jerk to move into first place on bodyweight. Alimov’s anti climatic 195 third attempt was dumped forward in the clean.
85 kg
Rostami Kianoush (IRI) with 175 snatch before losing it. Charniga photo.
Junior and Senior World Champion Rostami Kianoush (IRI), Moradi Sourab (IRI) and the Olympic Champion of Beijing SA Jaehyouk (KOR) were the top lifters in the 85 kg class. As mentioned earlier, there were many changes in weight even for first attempts among the lower level lifters in this class, so it should not come as a surprise that there were many misses.
SA Jaehyouk (KOR), the 2008 Olympic Champion, opened with 162 kg by making a very fast lift with this weight. He made another fast lift with his 2nd at 167 kg, but he had to struggle for a few seconds in the low squat to get his balance.
Rostami Kianoush (IRI), the Senior and Junior world champion, was up next with 168 kg. He had been training only two months because of a knee injury. In his career he has had a meniscus tear in his right knee, ligament tear in one elbow and now another problem with his left knee. The latest problem had been treated with blood platelet injections (seven in all). He made the 168 kg with a hop forward and a very deep squat, almost touching the floor.
Moradi Sourab (IRI), the other Iranian entry in this class, beat Rostami at the Iranian tryouts about a month out from this competition. He came in with 169 kg. He made a smooth jump back lift with this weight. He is not nearly as flexible as Rostami, but he gets the job done. SA Jaehyouk was obviously under a great deal of pressure by being the Olympic champion and from the host country; there were more than a dozen TV cameras present for this weight class. He made a fast pull with his third attempt at 171, but it was too much pull and not enough interaction going under the barbell: a miss.
Rostami was back out for 172 kg. Pulling fast, hopping forward and dropping extremely low, he fixed the weight, started to lose it backwards, then pulled it back in for a good lift. Some of his best lifts when he is in top shape have been back squat 310 and front squat 260 kg. He is a very polite and unassuming young man for such an outstanding athlete; it hasn’t gone to his head.
Moradi Sourab took the same 172 kg. He pulled and descended quickly but did not fully bottom out in the squat; then, he recovered after “stretching” the barbell well back behind his head. Rostami dragged his 3rd with 175 kg up slowly, dropped extremely fast under the barbell into an extremely low squat, but the barbell was too far back to control. Moradi Sourab took the same weight to move into the lead. Pulling slow and dropping slow, Moradi was not close to fixing the weight overhead.
Rostami Kianoush (IRI) was the first of the top three to appear in the clean and jerk with a 201 kg 1st attempt. He pulled the weight up about 7 cm and realizing it was way forward set it back down. Rostami re -set and pulled the weight into a deep squat; he had to sit a second or two to get his balance, then stood erect with no problem. An awkward but successful jerk followed. His hand spacing is so wide in the jerk that he has to turn his elbows outward from a turned in position at the chest, which is an awkward motion combined with scissoring under a weight.
SA Jaehyouk opened with 203 kg for an effortless clean and a quick jerk. His weak link is inflexibility in the shoulders, making it difficult to get the barbell behind his head. AL – Jumali Safaa (IRQ) cleaned the same 203 kg with a hop forward followed by an awkward but successful jerk. He cleaned 206 kg, moving under the barbell with unbelievable speed but had nothing left for the jerk. Moradi Sourab made a slow clean and a sloppy, forward jerk with his opener at 210 kg. Rostami Kianoush went to 211 on his 2nd. This time he pulled it only once, hopped forward, stood easily and made a better jerk than his 201 to regain the lead.
SA Jaehyouk took 213 for his 2nd. He cleaned this weight sticking a little at the top of the recovery; then, he rushed the jerk, losing the weight backward. He repeated with this weigh on his 3rd and this attempt mirrored his previous one.
With only the two Iranians left, Moradi Sourab appeared for 216 kg. Starting from a low squat position, Moradi Sourab pulled slowly, recovered slowly then made an uncoordinated attempt to jerk the weight for a miss. Rostami Kianoush, still in first place at this point, took the same 216 for his final attempt. He just pulled the weight then dropped it. This opened the door for Moradi Sourab. He took the same 216 kg, cleaned it slower than his first, sticking at the top of the recovery; he made another sloppy jerk forward, but he stepped under it for a good lift and the gold medal.
94 kg
HE Shuyong (CHN) jerking 210. Charniga photo.
The contenders in this class were Kim Min – Jae (KOR), HE Shuyong (CHN) and Igor Vashanov (KAZ). Unlike Europe, the depth of talent tapers off quickly after the 77 kg weight classes. This was the weakest class of the men’s competition.
Igor Vashanov (KAZ) made a near power snatch with his 160 kg opener. HE Shuyong had his 1st with 170 kg up in the deep squat but the weight shifted behind and he dropped it. Igor Vashanov took a 10 kg jump to 170 kg and he made a fast jump forward lift with this weight. HE Shuyong made a smooth deep squat snatch with his 2nd at 170 kg. Igor Vashanov went to 172 kg which he pulled forward, jumped forward and lost it forward. Kim Min – Jae (KOR) pulled fast with 175 kg on his 1st but it was in front in the squat and dropped forward. Kim took the same weight for his 2nd. This time he pulled it a little forward, but he lost it behind.
HE Shuyong pulled slow and sat slow with 175 kg then walked forward in the recovery until he almost ran out of platform, but it was good. Kim Min – Jae, facing elimination, made no mistake with his final attempt at 175 kg, fixing it just shy of the lowest squat position.
Igor Vashanov made a routine, safe opener with 186 kg. He pulled forward, jumped forward on his 2nd at 196 and made a good jerk. HE Shuyong opened with 205 kg. He was in the lead on bodyweight. He made a slow clean and a wide split jerk. Kim Min – Jae replied with 210 for an easy clean and a quick but easy jerk. HE Shuyong went to 210 to stay in the lead. A slow pull was followed by a slow recovery and a wide fast split in the jerk.
Kim Min – Jae yanked on 211, sat and then bounced out of the squat which was followed by a shallow split but a fast jerk to move into first place. HE Shuyong cleaned 215 on his 3rd and struggled through the second half of the recovery. He paused for a few seconds, jerked it to arms length in a deep split, but the weight fell behind. Already the champion, Kim Min – Jae yanked on 216, bounced twice at the bottom, then struggled out of the squat. He jerked the weight to arms length, but it was too far forward and that is where he dropped it. There wasn not much depth in this class, but it was a good battle for first.
105 kg
Ruslan Nurudinov (UZB)cleaning 228 kg. Charniga photo.
The clear favorites in this class were Nasirshelal Navab (IRI), Ruslan Nurudinov (UZB) and KIM Chul – Min (KOR).
KIM Chul – Min (KOR) opened with 170 kg that looked like an easy weight, but he dropped it behind. He was back out for the same weight. It was the same weight with exactly the same result. On his final attempt with this weight, he held the barbell for a couple of seconds in the squat position, but once again his toes came up and everything went backwards.
ASAD Kasem (SYR), who was not expected to be a factor, sat low with his second at 171 kg, and, despite having to make several steps with the weight, he held on for a good lift. Apparently assuming that was as much as he was going to get, the coach passed on a third attempt.
Ruslan Nurudinov was out for his 1st weight with 180 kg. He made this weight with a fast pull and a slight jump backwards. Nasirshelal Navab ripped his opener with 183 up easily, but his left shoulder buckled a little so he dropped it backward. He repeated with this weigh on his 2nd and this time he almost power snatched it.
Ruslan Nurudinov pulled fast, jumped back and, without going to maximum depth in the squat, made 184 on his second to move into first place. Nasirshelal Navab, who sports unusually large arms even for a 105 kg lifter, went to 187 kg. He sank into a deep squat and almost lost it on that left side, but he fought for his balance for a good lift. Ruslan Nurudinov took the same 187 kg. Unfortunately, he lost his grip on the right side, at the top of the pull, which sent him, briefly, airborne then flying to the back of the platform.
ASAD Kasem (SYR) made three good lifts in the clean and jerk ending with 204 kg and a bronze medal. KIM Chul – Min opened with 209, pulled the weight into his chest, then fell backward for the fourth straight time. He repeated with this weight and received a round of applause when he finally was able to hold his balance and complete the lift. Ruslan Nurudinov opened with 219 for a shaky first attempt. Nasirshelal Navab, cleaning with a fairly wide hand, spacing made an easy clean with a 225 kg 1st attempt; the jerk was up briefly then dropped. He cleaned this weight easier on his 2nd than his first, jerked it to arms length, then started to lose his balance to one side and had to let go of the barbell. KIM Chul – Min took 225 for his final attempt. He pulled the weight slowly to his chest, bounced three times but to no avail and no lift.
Nasirshelal Navab now needed his final lift with 225 to stay in the competition. After an easy hop forward clean, he jerked the weight and forced the bar behind his head then started to struggle with it on the left side while in the deep split. Finally, he dropped the barbell clutching his left elbow. Fortunately, he only suffered some strained ligaments in his elbow. Already the champion, Ruslan Nurudinov went to 228 kg. An easy clean but a bent back leg jerk sent his knee to the platform. He came back out for 230 kg, another easy clean but, feeling dizzy, he dropped it.
+105 kg
Salimikordasiabi Behdad (IRI) trying to fit under 260 kg. Charrniga photo.
SALIMIKORDASIABI Behdad (IRI) was the clear favorite in this class with his teammate ANOUSHIRVANIHAMLABAD Sajjad (IRI) and the big Korean JEON Sang-Guen (KOR); they were well ahead of the rest of the field.
JEON Sang-Guen was the first of the top guys up with 180 kg. He almost power snatched this weight with what appears to be a rather close hand spacing for such a big man. For instance, the Japanese entry OTA Kazuomi, lifting with about a collar to collar hand spacing, made his second with 184 kg at close to the same bodyweight as JEON. Wider hand spacing aside, his 3rd with 187 kg would not go.
ANOUSHIRVANIHAMLABAD Sajjad weighing only 150.8 kg made a fast dynamic lift with 188. He has better mobility than the other behemoths. Lifting with his hands about 3 cm outside the snatch markings on the bar, JEON Sang-Guen made another smooth lift with his 2nd 190 kg. ANOUSHIRVANIHAMLABAD Sajjad went to 193 kg and made a slow, jump back lift with this weight. The biggest guy of the competition SALIMIKORDASIABI Behdad (169.50) selected 196 kg. He made a fast pull, hop forward and low squat for an easy opening attempt.
ANOUSHIRVANIHAMLABAD Sajjad played it safe with a three kilo jump to 196. He pulled the weight in easily, jumping back slightly but he could not fix it in the deep squat. JEON Sang-Guen followed with 200 kg; pulling long and hard, he muscled the weight back behind his head to go 3 for 3 in the snatch.
SALIMIKORDASIABI Behdad made a very fast jump forward lift with 201 kg in looking good for much more. He had the final snatch attempt with a modest, for him, increase to 206 kg. The 206 was a mirror image of the 201; if anything it looked even easier.
OTA Kazuomi (JPN) started things off in the clean and jerk with a very easy 210. JEON Sang-Guen followed with 220 kg. He made a very easy clean then muscled the jerk. ANOUSHIRVANIHAMLABAD Sajjad was next with 223 kg. He jumped his feet far to the side to fix the weight on his chest, then made a sloppy, shallow split for the jerk. OTA Kazuomi made a very fast, easy clean with 226, followed by a really sloppy jerk which was way too far forward. He repeated with another extremely easy clean, another forward jerk which caused him to walk with it and was barely able to steady for the down signal.
ANOUSHIRVANIHAMLABAD Sajjad cleaned 231 jumping his feet far to the side; he had to pause briefly in the deep squat before recovering. He then made another shallow, sloppy jerk with this weight. A rather diminutive (139 kg) CHEN Shih-Chieh (TPE) managed to make three clean and jerks ending with 235 kg. He is smaller but faster and better coordinated than most of the big guys.
JEON Sang-Guen pulled fast with 237 kg and rose quickly with the bar sliding off his chest slightly. He rushed to jerk the weight and got a gift from the referees for what was an obvious press out with both arms.
ANOUSHIRVANIHAMLABAD Sajjad took 238 to move ahead of JEON. He made a harder, wide foot clean, another sloppy, but faster jerk with this weight to move into first place. SALIMIKORDASIABI Behdad made a fast, hop forward clean with his opener at 245 kg and solid jerk to take over first place in all three disciplines. JEON Sang-Guen came out for his final attempt at 250 kg. An explosive pull was followed by a recovery with the bar sliding off his chest again. JEON rushed to jerk the weight, but, like the last time, he just muscled the weight overhead except this time the press out was so slow it was too obvious to pass.
SALIMIKORDASIABI Behdad had the final two attempts. He went to 260 kg. He pulled the weight slow and simply could not wedge himself under it. On his final lift he just did a deadlift. It was interesting to watch a guy his size (about 193 cm in height and 169 kg in bodyweight) follow himself to the platform. He was on the platform with 1:30 on the clock and lifting before 1:00.
As talented as this guy is, it is becoming difficult for him to lift weights commensurate with his potential. His bodyweight and shear bulk inhibit his mobility. He could have lifted the 260, but a man of his girth has to raise the barbell higher than necessary in order to squat under and fix the weight on his chest. Guys this big go under the weight, and the size of their arms and belly prohibit them from fixing what are accessible weights.
A Bulgarian sport scientist many years ago claimed that a bodyweight of 140 kg is the point of diminishing returns, and that was for a male weightlifter. That figure seems about right. Between the size of the thighs, the girth of the belly and the girth of the arms, much more than 140 kg of mass starts to get in the way.
