Confident Li pockets China's 2nd weightlifting gold at Tokyo 2020

Li Fabin poses with his gold medal after the men's 61kg weightlifting event at Tokyo 2020 on July 25, 2021. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

TOKYO, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Li Fabin continued Chinese weightlifters' good form at Tokyo 2020 by snatching the delegation's second gold medal in the sport with his men's 61kg victory here on Sunday.

Li also set new Olympic records of 172kg in the clean and jerk, and 313kg in total.

Prior to Li, Hou Zhihui had triumphed in the women's 49kg category on Saturday.

Indonesia's Eko Yuli Irawan bagged silver with 302kg, and the bronze medal went to Igor Son of Kazakhstan at 294kg.

Both declaring 137kg to start their quest for gold, Li and Irawan put on a fierce duel as expected. Li is the current world record holder in both the snatch (145kg) and total (318kg), while Irawan keeps the clean and jerk world record (174kg).

Li Fabin lifted 11kg more than his nearest competitor on his way to gold in the men's 61kg weightlifting event. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

Li, the current world champion, managed to lift 137kg in his second attempt, before improving it to 141kg in his third.

Li admitted that he felt great pressure on his first attempt, but the event went more easily than he expected from there.

"Normally when you overrate your opponents a little bit, it becomes easier for you," he said.

Irawan succeeded in a 137kg first attempt, but faltered on 141kg in his next two lifts, giving Li a 4kg lead before the clean and jerk.

After successfully lifting 166kg and 172kg, Li aimed at the new world record by calling 178kg in his third attempt, but failed to clear it.

"I did not feel stress in particular," Irawan said of his contest with Li. "During the pandemic it was hard, but it has gone quite well. We wanted to [minimise] our frustration, so we aimed for silver first, and now we can aim for gold, although it will be quite hard."