Jhilli wins Asian gold in a field of 2 lifters

New Delhi, April 18

India’s Jhilli Dalabehera won gold in the 45kg category in a depleted two-lifter field at the Asian Weightlifting Championship in Tashkent today.

Jhilli, a Junior World Championship bronze medallist, lifted 69kg in snatch and 88kg in clean jerk for a total of 157kg to finish on top of the podium in all three categories of the gold level Olympics qualifier event which was postponed last year due to the Covid pandemic. However, 45kg is not a Olympics weight category.

The silver went to Philippines’ Mary Flor Diaz for her effort of 135kg (60kg+75kg).

With the win, the 20-year-old Odisha girl Jhilli bettered her silver-winning performance in the last edition. She had lifted 162kg (71kg+91kg) at the same event in 2019.

Her gold was India’s second medal of the tournament as Mirabai Chanu smashed the world record in the clean and jerk category en route a bronze medal on Saturday. Chanu lifted 86kg in snatch and a world record of 119kg in clean and jerk for a total of 205kg, which was her personal best. — TNS, agencies