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.