China, May 9, 2025 – The Vietnamese weightlifting team won their first gold medal at the 2025 Asian Weightlifting Championships, which began on May 9 in China, with Lai Gia Thanh leading the results.
The 2025 Asian Weightlifting Championships officially opened and started competitions on the afternoon of May 9 (local time) in China. This year’s event attracted 171 athletes from 26 countries and territories across the continent, competing in 10 men’s and 10 women’s weight categories. Before the competition began, the Asian Weightlifting Federation held an executive committee meeting to discuss technical matters and finalize decisions regarding future tournaments. Accordingly, the 2026 Asian Weightlifting Championships will be held in India, and the 2027 edition will take place in South Korea.
On the first day of the 2025 Asian Championships, three categories were contested early: women’s 45kg and 49kg, and men’s 55kg. Vietnam participated in the women’s 45kg and men’s 55kg categories. Athletes Lai Gia Thanh and Ngo Son Dinh were registered for the men’s 55kg category. However, Ngo Son Dinh suffered an injury before the event, leaving Lai Gia Thanh as Vietnam’s sole competitor in the category. Despite this, Lai Gia Thanh achieved outstanding results, securing one gold, one silver, and one bronze medal. He won the gold medal in the snatch with a successful lift of 120kg. Lai Gia Thanh also earned a bronze in the clean and jerk (140kg) and a silver in the total lift with a combined result of 260kg.
Lai Gia Thanh finished second overall in the total lift. The men’s 55kg champion was Wang Weidong from China (265kg total), while third place went to Al Saleem Mansour from Saudi Arabia (254kg total). Lai Gia Thanh’s performance was praised by the coaching staff as a strong start for the Vietnamese weightlifting team at the 2025 Asian Championships. A year ago, at the 2024 Asian Weightlifting Championships, Lai Gia Thanh won a bronze medal in the total lift with a result of 250kg.
On the same competition day, May 9, in China, athlete Pham Dinh Thi won three bronze medals in the women’s 45kg category (snatch 68kg, clean and jerk 85kg, total 153kg). The Vietnamese weightlifting team registered eight athletes for the event, with competitions continuing until May 18.
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