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Tian Tao came back from the dead to steal an unlikely Asian Games gold as China won the men’s 85kg Wednesday, their second weightlifting title of the day. |
The 20-year-old was fourth and out of the medals with one attempt remaining, having registered only 205kg in the clean and jerk for a 268kg total.
Iran’s Kianoush Rostami, was sitting pretty in first on 380kg as Tian went for broke, putting an unlikely, massive, world record-equalling 218kg on the bar.
To everyone’s surprise he hoisted it gloriously over his head, took gold with a total of 381kg and burst into wild celebration.
“I really didn’t imagine I would win gold. I just wanted to try my best during the competition,” Tian told reporters.
“There is an old saying in Chinese: ‘There will always be one last chance. That last moment. You will win, or you will lose’,” he added.
In the process Tian had broken the Games record for both the clean and jerk and the combined. Uzbekistan’s Ulugbek Alimov took a surprise bronze on 369kg after South Korea’s great medal hope Sa Jae-Hyouk failed to go the distance.
It was another shattering night for hosts South Korea as Sa, and his teammate Jeong Tae-Hong, both crashed out early.
The Moonlight Gardens Arena was near capacity creating a heady atmosphere as South Korean fans arrived en masse to support their heroes, sensing a real medal chance after a drawing blanks in the first nine weightlifting events.
They were soon groaning with disappointment as Jeong failed with all three attempts at his opening 157kg snatch and was gone without a legal lift before the competition had barely begun.
They were up and roaring again when number one Sa opened with an impressive 165kg. And they nearly took the roof off when he elevated it to 171kg with his next attempt.
Rostami, the Olympic bronze medallist, calmly achieved 166kg among the mayhem, but only on his second attempt, and China’s Tian could only muster just 163kg, failing twice at 168kg.
Rostami showed his class to respond with 172kg on his third try, take a slender lead over Sa and open a huge 9kg gap over Tian.
The South Korean declined his third attempt, seemingly in order to conserve his energy for the clean and jerk.
That was to prove in vain as Sa failed with all three attempts in the second discipline to stunned silence and then sympathetic applause as he bowed to his fans before departing.
Tian admitted that the exit of Sa, co-favourite for gold with himself and Rostami, had made his task easier.
“This would have been a home run for South Korea for him to win at home. The pressure was off of me so I was able to perform,” Tian said.
