National —
On August 8th, 2024, 19-year-old Thai weightlifter “Wave” Weeraphon Wichuma clinched a silver medal in the men’s 73kg category at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Starting strong with a successful 148kg lift in the snatch, Weeraphon struggled to lift 152kg in his next two attempts, finishing ninth in the snatch round. China’s defending champion Shi Zhiyong led with 166kg.
Weeraphon excelled in the clean and jerk, lifting 190kg on his first attempt. When Shi Zhiyong failed all three of his attempts, Weeraphon seized the opportunity, lifting 194kg and later breaking the world junior record with a 198kg lift. His total of 346kg earned him the silver medal.
Indonesia’s Rizki Juniansyah took gold with a total of 354kg, setting an Olympic record in the clean and jerk with a 199kg lift. The bronze went to Bozhidar Dimitrov Andreev of Bulgaria, who lifted a total of 344kg.
Meanwhile, in taekwondo, 18-year-old Thai athlete “Yu” Banlung Tubtimdang, the 2023 World Championship silver medalist and 2022 Asian Games gold medalist, missed a chance to compete for a bronze medal.
Banlung needed Spanish fighter Javier Pérez Polo, the fifth seed and European champion, to reach the final after defeating him in the first round. However, Polo was defeated in the semifinals by top-seed Ulugbek Rashitov of Uzbekistan, ending Banlung’s hopes for a medal in his Olympic debut.
This article originally appeared on our sister website The Pattaya News.
