Liu claims two men's 102kg golds at Asian Weightlifting Championships

China's reigning Olympic gold medalist Liu Huanhua claimed titles in the clean and jerk and total components in the men's 102-kilogram category at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Jiangshan, east China's Zhejiang Province, on Wednesday.

Liu started with 171 kilos in the snatch, and then maintained his momentum by going for 180 on his second effort. But the Asian record holder in this division, Hasanbayev Davranbek of Turkmenistan, took the lead with 182 kilograms on his last attempt. Liu raised the target to 183 on his final attempt, but was not able to complete the lift. That meant he settled for silver, while Davranbek grabbed gold.

Liu did better in the clean and jerk, hoisting 220 and 230 kilos on his first two efforts. The 23-year-old failed to lift 234 kilograms while looking to break his own world record on his last attempt, but the lift of 230 was good enough for him to claim the gold and finish top in total with 410 kilos.

"I performed well in the competition, according to my daily training, but I expect more from myself," Liu said. "I was not in my best form, and failed to lift 234 kilograms on the last attempt, after hoisting 230 kilograms through sheer willpower. I could almost feel my waist separating from my body at that moment."

China's Tian Dongping and Jiang Yujia competed for gold in the women's 87-kilogram category. Tian triumphed in the snatch with 118 kilos, with Jiang claiming silver with 113.

In the clean and jerk, Jiang hoisted 140 kilograms on her opening attempt before settling for two more silver medals. Tian claimed gold with first lift of 141 before failing to hoist 148 on her second attempt. And with an overall total of 259 kilos, Tian secured all three gold medals to sweep the podium in the division.