Two Thai weightlifters, Theerapong Silachai and Surodchana Khambao, delivered impressive performances at the Paris Olympics, winning silver and bronze medals, respectively, last night.
Theerapong Silachai, 21, earned the silver medal in the Men’s 61 kg weightlifting category, becoming the first Thai male weightlifter to win an Olympic silver.
Despite a session with 44 red lights and 28 white lights on the scoreboard, Silachai, who was ranked sixth in qualifying, was the only lifter to complete all six attempts.
He achieved a total lift of 132-171-303 kilograms, surpassing 300 kg for the first time. His final lift of 303 kilograms was just seven kilograms short of gold medalist Li Fabin.
In the Women’s 49 kg event, Surodchana Khambao secured the bronze medal with a total lift of 200 kg.
Surodchana has a notable history, including winning all three gold medals in the Women’s 53 kg category at the 2018 Junior World Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent and earning a bronze in the Women’s 53 kg event at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.
She also finished fourth in the Women’s 49 kg category at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh.
Photo: Gold medallist China’s Li Fabin (C), silver medallist Thailand’s Theerapong Silachai (L) and bronze medallist US’ Hampton Morris pose on the podium after the men’s -61kg weightlifting event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.//AFP
