IWF World Cup, Day 2 Recap – Women’s 49 kg

Day 2 of the IWF World Cup competition was supposed to be even more eye-hooking as the  Women’s 49-kg division, which is an Olympic one, was full of expected and even shocking results for some athletes.

What is more intriguing, some favorites showed a devastating performance falling behind their rivals.

Highlights of the Category Women’s 49 kg: Ri Song Gum Triumph Followed by Chinese Athletes Getting Silver and Bronze 

Today we were spectating thirteen female weightlifters competing, showing their maximum form enabling them to meet the highest standards set by the opponents. The leader’s board was represented by a World Record holder in the category, Ri Song Gum, in Clean & Jerk of 124 kg and totals of 216 kg;

Chinese Hou Zhihui, a holder of the Olympic record in Tokyo in Snatch of 94 kg, 116 kg – Clean & Jerk, and 211 kg Total. 

Keep your eyes on this spectacular battle in the World Cup qualifying event where every participant deserves to up the podium.

• 🥇Ri Song Gum (PRK) — 221 (97/124)
• 🥈Hou Zhihui (CHN) — 217 (97/120)
• 🥉Jiang Huihua (CHN) — 208 (94/114)

Ri Song Gum snatched 97 kg and won silver in this exercise She also took gold in Clean & Jerk with 124 kg, and as a result got 221 kg in the total, becoming a winner in the category. 

Looking back at her previous performances, she is a two-time gold medalist at the Asian Games in 2018 and 2022; also she took bronze at the World Championships in 2019. Today she beat her world record in total of 216 kg she did at the Asian Games in 2022.

The Chinese lifter Hou Zhihui snatched 97 kg. This enabled her to beat the Snatch World Record, because she did it before Gum. She’s an Olympic champion, World champion, and two-time Asian champion in the category. Namely, she took gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, won gold, two silver and bronze medals at the World Championships, as well as she gained incredible results at the Asian Games winning two golds and one silver medals.

This time she succeeded to beat her prior world record in total of 213 kg by four kilos, and Snatch by one kilo.

Her compatriot Jiang Huihua showed high focus by lifting 94 kg in the Snatch. She did 114 kg in Clean & Jerk, falling behind her teammate by 6 kilos. This time she improved her Junior World Record in Snatch of 92 kg by two kilos and total of 205 kg by three kilos respectively.

Speaking about the Italian lifter Giulia Imperio she did only one successful lift of 85 kilos in the Snatch, but all her attempts in the Clean & Jerk resulted in red lights. Thus, she bombed out from the competition completely. 

We can only guess the reason for such outcomes: psychological barrier, lack of proper physical form, being in a hurry, or too confident in positive results. Only guesses are left.

Total results

1. Ri Song Gum (PRK) — 221 kg
2. Hou Zhihui (CHN) — 217 kg
3. Jiang Huihua (CHN) — 208 kg

So, the category leader became Ri Song Gum who showed remarkable lifts resulting in 221 kg total that is 1 kilo more than her prior result of 220 kg at the Asian Championship . She improved her Snatch by 2 kilos.

The silver medalist became the Chinese Hou Zhihui: she finished her performance with 217 kg. This tiny lifter improved her total result since Grand Prix II by 8 kilos where she lifted 209 kg resulting in bronze.

Her compatriot Jiang Huihua was third today with a total of 208 kg which is 8 kg less than her previous result at Grand Prix II in Qatar. 

Final thoughts

Again, we got assured that more technical lifters will surpass those of high popularity in social media. As usual, Chinese athletes showed their perfect preparation for the competition, proving their persistence and discipline. 

Write in the comments below if you’d like to discuss today’s performance and share your thoughts.

Keep on watching our reviews for tomorrow’s competition day as we’re going to highlight the events in the Men’s 61 kg and Women’s 55 kg weight classes. Subscribe on our channel, and like our blog posts.

Stay strong and warm body cold mind!