Chinese weightlifters with three golden performances increased the pressure on North Korea in Gandhinagar
The Chinese team strongly concluded the penultimate competition day of the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Gandhinagar, where Tu Yi, Liao Guifang and Peng Cuiting won the most important titles in their categories on 16 May 2026 and brought China closer to leading North Korea in the overall medal standings. According to results published by the organizers and specialized weightlifting sources, China took golds that day in the men's category up to 94 kilograms and in the women's categories up to 77 and up to 86 kilograms. This continued the duel between the two strongest Asian teams at a competition that gathered the peak of continental weightlifting in the Indian state of Gujarat.
The 2026 Asian Championships were held from 11 to 17 May in Gandhinagar, at the Mahatma Mandir Convention & Exhibition Centre, and the Asian Weightlifting Federation had earlier announced that the official start list included 172 athletes from 28 member federations. According to a report by Olympics.com, India thereby hosted the senior Asian Weightlifting Championships for the first time since 1982, which gave the competition additional organizational and sporting importance. China and North Korea were at the center of attention, teams that throughout the week alternated in winning the biggest titles and breaking records.
Tu Yi completely controlled the category up to 94 kilograms
In the men's category up to 94 kilograms, Chinese lifter Tu Yi achieved the cleanest victory of the day. According to results published by the UNI agency, Tu won three gold medals: in the snatch, the clean and jerk and the total. In the snatch he lifted 175 kilograms, in the clean and jerk 211 kilograms, and he finished with a total of 386 kilograms. Those results were enough for a convincing gap over his closest rivals and an important contribution to China's medal tally.
Silver in the same category went to Uzbekistan's representative Mukhammadkodir Toshtemirov, who, according to the published results, finished with a total of 373 kilograms. Bronze was won by Rustem Annaberdiyev from Turkmenistan, with a total result of 354 kilograms. Tu's 13-kilogram advantage in the total showed that the Chinese representative had broad room for maneuver in the closing stage of the competition, although his rivals remained close enough for the category to retain competitive tension until the end.
For China, that result was particularly important because it came after a series of strong North Korean performances in earlier men's categories. According to the competition results, North Korean lifters had previously won titles in the categories up to 60, 71, 79 and 88 kilograms, while on several occasions setting world records in the clean and jerk and total. Tu's victory therefore was not only an individual success, but also the Chinese team's response in the final phase of the championships.
Liao Guifang confirmed her status as favorite
In the women's category up to 77 kilograms, Liao Guifang justified her status as one of the most prominent Chinese lifters at the competition. According to Weightlifting House results, Liao won with a total of 265 kilograms, after a 118-kilogram snatch and a 147-kilogram clean and jerk. In the clean and jerk, her first successful attempt was enough to secure gold, after which she did not come out for the remaining attempts. Such an outcome showed how much of an advantage she had already gained in the early phase of the contest.
North Korea nevertheless remained very close in that category as well. Kim Kyong-Ryon took second place with a total of 260 kilograms, after 115 kilograms in the snatch and 145 kilograms in the clean and jerk. The difference of only five kilograms in the total further emphasized the depth of quality between the Chinese and North Korean teams. India's representative Sanjana won bronze with a total of 220 kilograms, after 96 kilograms in the snatch and 124 kilograms in the clean and jerk, thereby bringing the host another medal at the championships.
The UNI agency reported that Sanjana won three bronze medals in that category, in the snatch, the clean and jerk and the total. Her result was important for the home team because India competed in Gandhinagar in front of its own crowd and as part of a championship that carried additional weight for the development of weightlifting in the host country. Still, the sporting focus of the category remained on the battle between Liao and Kim, two lifters who separated themselves from the rest of the field.
Peng Cuiting brought China another gold in the women's competition
In the women's category up to 86 kilograms, Peng Cuiting continued China's streak. According to the published results, Peng won the overall gold with 270 kilograms, after 127 kilograms in the snatch and 143 kilograms in the clean and jerk. In the snatch she had the highest successful result of the category, while in the clean and jerk she achieved enough for the overall victory ahead of Bahrain's representative Alina Marushchak.
Marushchak finished second with a total of 265 kilograms, only five kilograms behind the Chinese winner. In the clean and jerk she lifted 145 kilograms, two kilograms more than Peng, but for the overall turnaround she lacked a larger advantage in that discipline because she had fallen seven kilograms behind in the snatch. Bronze was won by South Korean lifter Jang Hyeonju, who finished with 245 kilograms, after 109 kilograms in the snatch and 136 kilograms in the clean and jerk.
Peng's victory had additional value for China's overall performance because it came in one of the heavier women's categories, where differences are often small and the total ranking can depend on one missed attempt. According to Weightlifting House results, India's representative Vanshita Verma finished fourth with a total of 220 kilograms, while competitors from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh remained far behind the medal fight. This once again confirmed that China, North Korea, Bahrain and South Korea had the strongest candidates for the podium in that category.
The duel between China and North Korea marked the championships
The Asian Championships in Gandhinagar were strongly marked by the rivalry between China and North Korea. According to reports by the Asian Weightlifting Federation, North Korea had earlier during the championships lined up victories and records, including the performances of Pang Un Chol, Ri Won Ju, Ri Ryong-Hyon and Ro Kwang-Ryol in the men's competition and Ri Suk and Song Kuk-Hyang in the women's categories. The Chinese team responded with victories in other categories and strong performances by athletes such as He Yueji, Liao Guifang, Peng Cuiting and Tu Yi.
In sporting terms, the difference between the two teams did not come down only to the number of medals won. North Korea attracted great attention in Gandhinagar with records in the clean and jerk and total, while China showed the depth of its team, especially in categories in which it could have several athletes among the best. Such a balance of power gave the championships additional drama, because almost every final performance was also interpreted through the team context.
According to official AWF announcements, the earlier days of competition had already brought several world and Asian records. Pang Un Chol set a world record in the clean and jerk in the category up to 60 kilograms, while later performances by North Korean lifters pushed the boundaries further in the middle categories. China's He Yueji also set records in the category up to 65 kilograms, confirming that the new structure of weight categories is being used as an opportunity to enter new best results.
A new era of weight categories and the fight for records
The competition in Gandhinagar was held during a period in which international weightlifting is adapting to a new arrangement of weight categories. For that reason, the results at this championship carried additional statistical importance, because athletes in individual categories had the opportunity to set initial or new world and Asian records. In its results preview, Weightlifting House emphasized that athletes were using the final opportunities to enter the record books before the old framework closes and the transition to a new phase of the international cycle begins.
For teams such as China and North Korea, such a context is especially important. Both countries traditionally invest heavily in the technical preparation of lifters, and Asian competitions often serve as an indicator of the balance of power before world championships and other major competitions. The results from Gandhinagar therefore matter not only as continental successes, but also as a signal for the continuation of the season, especially in categories in which fights for world titles are expected.
In such circumstances, Saturday's Chinese streak had broader meaning. Tu Yi, Liao Guifang and Peng Cuiting did not only win individual golds, but also returned momentum to China at a moment when North Korea already had a strong run of victories and record-breaking performances. Their results reduced the gap in the overall medal standings and preserved uncertainty ahead of the final day, when the heaviest categories were on the schedule.
The host won important medals, but the top remained reserved for the biggest powers
India had both sporting and organizational interest in the championships in Gandhinagar. According to data from the Indian Weightlifting Federation, the competition gathered more than 170 elite athletes from Asian countries and had the status of one of the more important international sporting events hosted by India that year. Home representatives managed to win several medals, including Sanjana's three bronzes in the category up to 77 kilograms, but the top of the standings largely remained in the hands of China and North Korea.
Such an outcome does not diminish the importance of India's results. For the home team, performances in Gandhinagar were an opportunity to measure itself against the strongest Asian lifters, but also to strengthen the base of the sport in a country that is trying to increase the visibility of Olympic disciplines beyond cricket and the most popular sports. Medals in the women's categories are particularly important because they show that Indian female lifters can enter the fight for the podium, although the gap to the leading nations remains considerable.
At the same time, the championships confirmed how deep and competitive Asian weightlifting is. In addition to China and North Korea, medals were won by athletes from Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Bahrain, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam and other countries. This gave the competition a breadth that goes beyond the duel of the two strongest teams, although it was China and North Korea that most shaped the headlines.
The finale in the sign of the heaviest categories
According to the schedule published by Weightlifting House, after Saturday's performances in the categories up to 77, up to 86 and up to 94 kilograms, the final day was reserved for the women's category above 86 kilograms and the men's categories up to 110 and above 110 kilograms. On the start lists for 17 May were, among others, Chinese lifter Li Yan, South Korean representative Park Hye-Jeong, Chinese Olympic and world contender Liu Huanhua and Bahraini super heavyweight Gor Minasyan. This meant the championships were entering the finale with several names capable of large total results.
By the final day, China had already shown that it had enough depth for turnarounds in the standings, while North Korea had created a strong advantage on earlier days of competition with record performances. Saturday's Chinese performance was therefore a key part of the final story of the championships: three victories in one day not only improved the medal haul, but also emphasized that the Asian summit in weightlifting is shaped through the constant pressure of two teams with different, but equally effective, sporting models.
Gandhinagar thus received a championship that combined domestic interest, continental prestige and globally relevant results. For China, the victories of Tu Yi, Liao Guifang and Peng Cuiting represented confirmation of the team's depth in the final stage of the competition. For North Korea, the earlier record-breaking performances remained proof of dominance in a series of categories. For the rest of the competition, the championships were an opportunity to approach the sporting standards that the strongest Asian weightlifters once again set in India.
Sources:
- Asian Weightlifting Federation – official announcements, calendar, start lists and news about the Asian Championships in Gandhinagar (link)
- Weightlifting House – results by categories and schedule of the 2026 Asian Championships (link)
- United News of India – report on the performances of Tu Yi, Liao Guifang, Peng Cuiting and Indian lifter Sanjana on 16 May 2026 (link)
- Olympics.com – championship preview, data on India's hosting, schedule and athletes to watch (link)
- Indian Weightlifting Federation – official information about the championships in Gandhinagar, the number of participants and the significance of the competition (link)