Weightlifting

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese weightlifters are ready to compete in the World Weightlifting Championships which is scheduled from November 28 to December 5 at the Anaheim Convention Centre in Anaheim, California, United States. 

The team includes 12 male and female weightlifters competing in eight of the 16 weight categories of the event.

To prepare for the event, Vietnamese players have honed their skills and gained experience via regional and continental tournaments since early this year.

According to coach Huỳnh Hữu Chí, Thạch Kim Tuấn and Trần Lê Quốc Toàn are candidates for gold medal in the men’s 56kg as the top world weighlifters will be absent in this year’s category including Om Yun-chol of North Korea, Long Qing-quan and Wu Jing-biao of China, and Arli Chontey of Kazakhstan.

Tuấn won gold medals at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games held in Malaysia in August and in Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in September. He also won a sliver in the world event in 2014 and two bronzes in 2013 and 2015. While Toàn placed fourth in both the 2012 and 2013 World Championships.

Chí has also pinned his hopes on SEA Games defending champion Trịnh Văn Vinh and Lại Gia Thành, who won a gold and two silvers in the world junior event this year, in the men’s 62kg. Vinh also bagged a gold medal at the AIMAG this year.

On the women’s side, 2015 world silver medalist Vương Thị Huyền is considered an arch rival in the 58kg category, while Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Mai will be an unknown in the 63kg.

According to the International Weightlifting Federation, this year nine countries will be banned from competing at the world championship due to their history of doping at previous Olympic Games namely Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Turkey, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus and Azerbaijan. — VNS