Games-North Korea's Ri breaks world records en route to third Asian Games gold

North Korean weightlifter ​Ri Song Gum broke three ​world records en route to ‌winning ​her third Asian Games gold medal on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old, who also won gold in 2023 at the ‌Games in Hangzhou and in 2018 at Jakarta-Palembang, lifted 94 kg in the snatch segment in Nagoya, 1 kg more than the previous world mark. She followed that up ‌with a clean-and-jerk of 121 kg, bettering the previous best of 120 ‌kg.

Her total haul of 215 kg eclipsed the previous benchmark by 4 kg. The gold in the women's 49 kg category was North Korea's first of the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

"The world record and ⁠this ​gold medal hold ⁠great meaning for me, because of everything I poured into this competition," Ri said. “I stepped out ⁠onto the competition floor today carrying that faith and those expectations."

Tokyo Olympics silver medallist ​Mirabai Chanu of India was runner-up with a total lift of 198 kg. ⁠The 32-year-old, a three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, had failed to medal in her two ⁠previous ​Asian Games appearances. "There was pressure, but not that much pressure that I could not win a medal," Mirabai said.

"I had the belief in me that ⁠I would be able to win. There were expectations, people who believed in ⁠me: my coaches, ⁠my support staff, and I made sure to win a medal for my country." Indonesia's Luluk Diana Tri Wijayana took bronze ‌with 191 ‌kg.