Liu Chunhong lifts women's 69kg gold medal

In the women's 69 kilogram class, local hero and Olympic champion Liu Chonghong easily lifted 120kg in the snatch competition. Liu is already a two-time winner at the National Games.

But the going got tough on her third try at 125 kilograms, Liu couldn't bring up the bar and was left to challenge her own limit in the clean and jerk later in the contest.

Chen Ling of Jiangsu emerged as Liu's top challenger. She also tried 125kg in the snatch competition and successfully lifted the weight to take the advantage, 5 kilograms more than Liu.

In the clean and jerk, Jiangsu's Chen seemed to lose her energy. She successfully lifted 140kg, but failed to lift 147kg. Then it was time for Liu show her power, Liu holds the world record of 158kg in clean and jerk. Liu made an attempt at 147kg, which would secure her a gold medal, it looked easy for Liu as she lifted the weight steadily. Her successful attempt wowed the spectators that lift meant the Olympic champion won the gold medal with a total of 265kg. This is the third gold medal for Liu in three consecutive games, her sights are set on another victory at the 2012 London Olympic games.

Liu Chunhong said, "I feel very excited.  Before the match, I decided that I must try my best before the home crowd. I want to show my strength with 8 gold medals in three national games."

Chen Ling won silver while Liaoning's Kang Yue settled for bronze due to bodyweight disadvantage.