by Peter HUTCHISON
RIO DE JANIERO, Brazil (AFP) — Taiwanese weightlifter Hsu Shu-ching sensationally grabbed gold at Rio Sunday and then immediately called on Olympic chiefs to hurry up and upgrade her silver medal from the London 2012 Games.
Hsu pipped Chinese favourite Li Yajun to first place in the women’s 53kg class, four years after she was undone by Kazakh lifter Zulfiya Chinshanlo who later failed a doping test.
Chinshanlo was provisionally suspended by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) in June after a retesting of samples from the London Games discovered banned substances and is not competing in Rio.
The International Olympic Committee is yet to make a final ruling on Chinshanlo’s case, according to an IWF spokesperson, but Hsu is hoping she will be stripped of her gold.
“I hope I will know the result of my silver turning to gold as soon as possible,” Hsu told reporters after lifting a total of 212kg at the Riocentro Pavilion 2.
Hsu’s impressive 100kg in the snatch and 112kg in the clean and jerk was comfortably enough to secure Taiwan’s first ever gold in weightlifting after a dramatic collapse by Li.
“Chinshanlo’s not here so there was one less fierce competitor for me. There was just the Chinese competitor really,” Hsu said.
The 23-year-old Li failed to register a clean and jerk, and therefore a total score, despite setting a new Olympic record of 101kg in the snatch.
She attempted to set a new world record but dropped the barbell that was carrying 104kg.
Li went in to the clean and jerk leading by 1kg over 25-year-old Hsu as the pair engaged in an engrossing duel, well ahead of their other competitors.
The Taiwanese got her jerking tactics spot on while Li floundered leaving her and her coach in floods of tears.
Hsu lifted 112kg and then failed to haul 126kg. But Li failed on her three attempts at the clean and jerk, first at 123kg, which was ruled a no lift, and then twice on 126kg.
“I don’t know why the judges ruled against me in that first lift,” she said dejectedly afterwards.
It meant Hsu was left in first place with an attempt to spare, which she declined to use, finishing a whopping 12kg ahead of silver medallist Hidilyn Diaz of the Philippines.
It was the first ever weightlifting medal for the Philippines.
“I’m very happy as I aimed for bronze. I didn’t think I could get silver,” a beaming Diaz told reporters.
South Korea’s Yoon Jin-Hee, 30, finished third with a total of 199kg. It was her second Olympic medal after taking silver in Beijing in 2008.
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