Day 1 at the IWF Asian Weightlifting Championship 2024, the women 45 kg category is heading to the platform to fight for the top spots in the podium. We ended up with a wonderful surprise from WON HYON SIM who set a new world record.

Come with us to go through what went on in this category.

Athletes’ Presentation

SIRIWIMON PRAMONGKHOL who came in fourth place in the 2012 London Olympics, HONG ZI-YU who competed in the 2019 Asian Youth Championship, placing third in the total, ABDYKALYKOVA AINUR who performed in the Worlds Championship in September 2023 placing 30th in the 49 kg category.

WON HYON SIM who ended up setting a new world record in her category for the Snatch, SITI NAFISATUL HARIROH won the gold medal in the women’s 45 kg event at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games held in Konya, Turkey.

BATNASAN TUNGALAG that performed in the Worlds Championship in September 2023 placing 9th, and ODILOVA MUNISA who ended up taking 6th place in this category.

Snatch

The performance in the Snatch exercise started with ODILOVA MUNISA with a 54 kg lift. At the end of this session the placing was:

7: ODILOVA MUNISA
6: BATNASAN TUNGALAG
5: ABDYKALYKOVA AINUR
4: SITI NAFISATUL HARIROH

Top 3 Leaders’ Results

Now let’s analyze the Top 3 lifters’ performance:

🥇WON HYON SIM
🥈SIRIWIMON PRAMONGKHOL
🥉HONG ZI-YU

HONG,ZI-YU won the bronze medal after stepping onto the platform and demonstrating she could manage a solid 72 kg Snatch.

The second place went to SIRIWIMON PRAMONGKHOL, who started with a successful 72 kg snatch in her first attempt, then went up to try 76 kg and 79 kg lift that resulted in both no lifts.

The gold medal went to WON HYON SIM who came in with solid lifts and ended up setting a new world record for her category with a 86 kg Snatch.

Snatch Results

Summarizing the Snatch session, we can say that it started somewhat slow, with several no lifts from the athletes, but ended giving the public a huge surprise when WON HYON SIM demonstrated her prowess in the Snatch by crushing stepping in and giving the world a new record for the 45 kg women category. 

Clean & Jerk

The Clean & Jerk lift went up to show this athlete’s strength with lifts that more than doubled their body weight category. In this lift is where we learned that SITI NAFISATUL HARIROH had withdrawn from competition.

6: ODILOVA MUNISA
5: BATNASAN TUNGALAG
4: ABDYKALYKOVA AINUR

Top 3 Leaders’ Results

Let’s describe the performance of the Top 3 lifters:

🥇WON HYON SIM
🥈SIRIWIMON PRAMONGKHOL
🥉HONG ZI-YU

HONG ZI-YU secured third place in the Clean and Jerk, she started with an 85 kg lift, then went up to 88 kg and finished with a successful 90 kg Clean and Jerk.

The silver medalist was SIRIWIMON PRAMONGKHOL who had a successful score of 91 kg in her first attempt, then went up to try 101 kg for her second and third attempt but both resulted in no lifts.

WON HYON SIM became a gold winner once again in the Clean and Jerk lift, she started with a solid 100 kg lift for her first attempt, then went to try 106 kg in her second attempt that resulted in a no lift, and the same weight for her third attempt that resulted in a good lift, giving her the first place and the gold medal for her team.

Clean & Jerk Results

From a withdrawal from SITI NAFISATUL HARIROH to the demonstration of strength of WON HYON SIM and the resilience of ODILOVA MUNISA the Clean and Jerk part of this category’s competition was tremendously exciting. There were far fewer ¨no lifts¨ comparing to the Snatch session and the athletes looked far more confident in this lift.

Total Results

• 🥇WON HYON SIM, with 192 kg.
• 🥈SIRIWIMON PRAMONGKHOL, with 163 kg.
• 🥉HONG ZI-YU, with 162 kg.
• 4: ABDYKALYKOVA AINUR, with 137 kg.
• 5: BATNASAN TUNGALAG, with 130 kg.
• 6: ODILOVA MUNISA, with 127 kg.

The gold medalist in the category was WON HYON SIM with back to back top finishes in Snatch and Clean and Jerk, with a score of 86 kg for her Snatch and 106 kg in her Clean and Jerk, for a total of 192 kg, this competitor managed to get the top spot on all three podiums.

The silver medalist was SIRIWIMON PRAMONGKHOL with a score of 72 kg for her Snatch and 91 kg for her Clean and Jerk she secured the silver medal, taking in account that both score were her first attempts, this shows that this athlete has much more to show us in the future.

HONG ZI-YU took bronze after snatching 72 kg in her third attempt and 90 kg in the Clean and Jerk in both third attempts at the lifts, showing the public that she was in control and knew what she was capable of.

Final Thoughts

The first day of competition brings the nerves not only to the athletes but also to the spectators that are excited and waiting to see the prowess of these athletes. The 45 kg women category showed that this group was meant to be here in front of the cameras and judges and deserve the recognition.

Although there were many ¨no lifts¨ in this category, we got to see a new world record from WON HYON SIM’s Snatch with an impressive 86 kg. For more on the IWF Asian Weightlifting Championship 2024 make sure to follow our day to day recap, and don’t forget to comment down below your most memorable moment from this category.