Shi Chi-yong
As one of the traditional advantages of Chinese sports, the Chinese weightlifting team has performed well in all previous Olympic Games. At the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, the Chinese weightlifting team won seven gold medals in the men's 61 kg (Li Fabin), 67 kg (Chen Lijun), 73 kg (Shi Zhiyong), 81 kg (Lu Xiaojun), women's 49 kg (Hou Zhihui), 87 kg (Wang Zhouyu), and over 87 kg (Li Wenwen), and won a silver medal in the women's 55 kg (Liao Qiuyun). After entering the Paris Olympic cycle, the number of participants and levels of the Olympic Games have changed greatly, but the Chinese weightlifting team still maintains a strong ability to win gold.
A few days ago, the Chinese weightlifting team has announced the list of participants and classes for the Paris Olympics, namely men's 61 kg (Li Fabin), 73 kg (Shi Zhiyong), and 102 kg (Liu Huanhua); Women's 49 kg (Hou Zhihui), 59 kg (Luo Shifang), 81 kg and above (Li Wenwen). Among them, Li Fabin, Shi Zhiyong, Hou Zhihui and Li Wenwen are all Olympic champions, and they are all looking forward to successfully defending their titles at the Paris Olympics. Liu Huanhua and Luo Shifang are world champions, and they are also looking forward to showing China's power in their first Olympic Games.
Objective analysis, the Chinese weightlifting team has the absolute strength to win gold in the five levels, as long as the participating athletes perform normally, then the gold medal is in the bag. But the men's 73kg class is the most suspenseful, and two-time Olympic gold medalist Shi Zhiyong needs to defeat himself in addition to defeating his opponent.
Hou Zhihui
Hou Zhihui has participated in two previous Olympic Games, including in Rio 2016, when Hou Zhihui was replaced by team-mates in other classes, which led to her failure to participate in Rio. Hou Zhihui is already the top expert in the women's 49kg class during the Tokyo Olympic cycle, and she won the gold medal in this class at the Tokyo Olympics. Heading into the Paris Olympic cycle, Hou has not been able to surpass her teammate Jiang Huihua in her best results in the division, raising concerns about her prospects. But at the Weightlifting World Cup in April this year, Hou Zhihui surpassed Jiang Huihua with a total score of 217 kilograms, thus securing a ticket to the Paris Olympics.
In fact, the main competitor of the Chinese weightlifting team in this division is North Korean athlete Li Shengjin, both Hou Zhihui and Jiang Huihua have lost to Li Shengjin several times, but considering that the North Korean weightlifting team did not qualify for the Paris Olympics, Hou Zhihui has a good chance of winning gold in this division.
Luo Shifang
The Chinese weightlifting team did not have much advantage in the women's 59kg class before, but with Luo Shifang's rapid growth during the Paris Olympic cycle, the Chinese team has set their sights on gold medals in this class. Luo Shifang won the overall championship in the 2023 Asian Championships and World Championships. At the Asian Games, although Luo Shifang lost to North Korea's Kim Il-kyung in the overall score, she defeated this opponent at the Grand Prix at the end of the year. In the Weightlifting World Cup in April this year, Luo Shifang defeated Kim Il-kyung again and won the championship by setting a new world record in total. This further strengthened her confidence in winning gold at the Paris Olympics.
Moreover, Luo Shifang's goal in Paris is not just to win the Olympic gold medal, she also hopes to break her own world record of 248kg.
Li Wenwen
Similar to Luo Shifang, Li Wenwen also has no opponent in the women's 81kg and above class. Li Wenwen crushed her opponent to the top in the Tokyo Olympics. Entering the Paris Olympic cycle, Li Wenwen still maintains a strong ability to win gold. But unfortunately, Li Wenwen injured her elbow ligament at the 2023 World Championships, which took her a long time to recover. Li Wenwen also missed the Asian Games and Grand Prix because of this.
However, at the Weightlifting World Cup in April this year, Li Wenwen staged a good return of the king, and she returned to the dominant level of this division. As long as Li Wenwen plays normally, it will only be a matter of time before she defends her title at the Paris Olympics.
Li Fabin
At the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, Li Fabin became famous in one fell swoop because he made an independent move of the golden rooster during the trial lifting. Of course, this action is not a standard action for weightlifting, but Li Fabin's core strength is strong, so it can be made in the competition. Entering the Paris Olympic cycle, Li Fabin still maintains absolute dominance at this level. In the past three years, in important competitions such as the World Championships, the World Cup, and the Asian Games, Li Fabin has been the overall champion, and his strength is far ahead of his opponents.
However, for more than a year, Li Fabin was also adversely affected by patellar contusions on both knees. Even so, Li Fabin is still the king of the division, having won the weightlifting World Cup in April this year. For the Paris Olympics, Li Fabin has only one goal - to successfully defend his title.
Liu Huanhua
Liu Huanhua is an outstanding men's major athlete who emerged in the Paris Olympic cycle. In fact, Liu Huanhua has crossed divisions in a row for the past three years, which is rare in the history of Chinese weightlifting teams. In the men's 102 kg class, Liu Huanhua has a strong ability to win gold. Judging by his current level, as long as Liu Huanhua can play normally, then he is likely to win the gold medal in this division. If Liu Huanhua succeeds in reaching the top, then he will fill the Olympic gold medal gap of the Chinese weightlifting team in the men's major category.
The most uncertain category in the Chinese men's weightlifting is the 73kg category. Shi Zhiyong, who has won gold medals at two Olympic Games in Rio and Tokyo, has been adversely affected by injuries since entering the Paris Olympic cycle, which has prevented him from training systematically. Shi Zhiyong also took a long time away from the international arena, and it was not until the Grand Prix at the end of 2023 that he returned to the competition and finished second overall. At the Weightlifting World Cup in April this year, Shi Zhiyong fought hard for his Olympic dream, and his total score was 356 kilograms, and he won the second place in this category.
Shi's main rival in this division was Indonesia's Juniansyah, who won the gold medal with a 365kg mark. Yu Jie, coach of the Chinese men's team, said: "Shi Zhiyong's fighting spirit in training and competition is worth learning from all the players, and we look forward to him returning to his best level before the Paris Olympics and winning glory for his country again." ”
Text/Beiqing Sports Song Xiang