Bulgaria takes overall title in weightlifting meet

JAKARTA (JP): A modest medal collection of two golds, five silvers and five bronzes gave Bulgaria the overall championship title at the 20th junior world weightlifting meet as five new records were produced at the conclusion of the championships on Saturday.

Bulgaria, which placed seventh in the championships' medal tally behind late comer Armenia, earned 358 points to upset both Russia and China which swept 16 out of 30 gold medals offered in the week-long meet. Russia finished second overall with 332 points, and China was a distant third with 244 points in the annual competition.

The additional five new records bring the tally of world marks to 10, just one third of the 30 events contested in the Senayan indoor tennis stadium.

A gold medal is worth 16 points, a silver medal 14 points and a bronze 13 points.

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) also gives consolation points to lifters who fail to win any medals for their laborious performance, with the smallest score, one point, given to the 15th place finisher.

China topped the medal race with a haul of nine golds, three silvers and a bronze, ahead of Russia which collected seven golds, four silvers and a bronze. Of 36 countries entered in the first junior weightlifting meet hosted by Indonesia, 21 left Jakarta empty handed.

A 10-strong host team managed only a bronze, which was won by Erwin Abdullah in the 54kg clean and jerk competition. The lone bronze put Indonesia at the 14th spot behind Chinese Taipei which was included in the non-medal winning teams.

Juggernaut Armenian and Ukrainian lifters highlighted Saturday's closing competitions, setting new meet records on their way to sweeping the last six golds.

Panielian, an Armenian national army member, took the over-108-kilogram crown in style. Having just one month of preparations, he added three new world marks to his three golds in the new heaviest division.

A few slaps and relentless cheer from his coach paid off as Panielian snatched 171kgs to beat the world standard of 270kgs and lifted 210kgs in the clean and jerk to better the world mark by 2.5kgs. His immense lifts earned him a total score of 381kgs, 8.5kgs heavier than the world standard set by IWF.

This was sweet revenge for the Armenian lifter as he had only finished third in last year's meet in the Czech Republic.

As Panielian was unbeatable in the division, his rivals fought tooth and nail for the runner-up places. Russian Vladimir Glovchko took the silver in the snatch, while Chinese Jiang Kai won the clean and jerk silver. The total event's second place went to Victor Gavinski of Ukraine.

Another Ukraine Sergei Lokianchikov delighted the few people turning out for Saturday's final day with two world records and three gold medals in the 108kg category.

Lokianchikov did everything smoothly as he snatched 180kgs to shatter the former best mark of 177.5kgs. He failed to improve the clean and jerk record of 215kgs, but his 210kg lift was enough to earn him his second gold. The third gold and a record- breaking total lift of 395kgs confirmed his superiority.

The next junior world championships will move to Warsaw, Poland in 1995. (amd)

Overall standings 1. Bulgaria 358pts 2. Russia 332 3. China 244 4. Rumania 199 5. Germany 196 6. Turkey 182 7. Ukraine 163 8. Kazakhstan 150 9. South Korea 145 10. U.S.A 141