Following the successful end of the European Weightlifting Championships, all eyes are now set on Asia where the continent’s top lifters will compete in the 2023 Asian Weightlifting Championships, check out the competition schedule, and start list
Besides serving as a continental competition with medals for winners, the event will also serve as a part of the Olympic qualifying process for Paris 2024.
Asian Weightlifting Championships 2023: Schedule, date, time, events, wrestlers and venue
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Bringing you exclusive glimpses from Jinju, Korea where our weightlifters are training ahead of the Asian Weightlifting Championships👍 pic.twitter.com/dlVbOxRp5w
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Next stop Jinju, Korea ✈️ for Asian Weightlifting Championships. pic.twitter.com/WiCUDmz4UG
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The upcoming championship will also give athletes a chance to test themselves ahead of September’s Asian Games.
2023 Asian Weightlifting Championships preview
The upcoming 2023 Asian Weightlifting Championships will take place in Jinju, Republic of Korea starting from 3-13 May 2023. Fans can watch the live streaming of the event on Olympics.com via Olympic Channel.
The event will feature contestants competing in 10 weight classes for both men and women. Aside from fulfilling other prerequisites, athletes who wish to participate at the next Summer Games, must participate in a minimum of three major competitions. And the Asian Weightlifting Championships is one of those events.
2023 Asian Weightlifting Championships competition schedule
Given below is the full events schedule for the upcoming 2023 Asian Weightlifting Championships in local time Jinju, South Korea (UTC/GMT +9):
| Date | Time | Weight Category |
| Friday 5 May | 11:00 | Women’s 45kg |
| 13:00 | Women’s 49kg (Group B) | |
| 15:00 | Men’s 55kg | |
| 18:00 | Women’s 49kg (Group A) | |
| Saturday 6 May | 11:00 | Men’s 61kg (Group B) |
| 15:00 | Women’s 55kg | |
| 18:00 | Men’s 61kg (Group A) | |
| Sunday 7 May | 11:00 | Women’s 59kg (Group B) |
| 15:00 | Men’s 67kg | |
| 18:00 | Women’s 59kg (Group A) | |
| Monday 8 May | 13:00 | Men’s 73kg (Group B) |
| 15:00 | Women’s 64kg | |
| 18:00 | Men’s 73kg (Group A) | |
| Tuesday 9 May | 11:00 | Women’s 71kg (Group B) |
| 15:00 | Women’s 71kg (Group A) | |
| 18:00 | Men’s 81kg | |
| Wednesday 10 May
|
11:00 | Men’s 89kg (Group B) |
| 13:00 | Women’s 76kg | |
| 15:00 | Men’s 89kg (Group A) | |
| 18:00 | Women’s 81kg | |
| Thursday 11 May | 15:00 | Women’s 87kg |
| 18:00 | Men’s 96kg | |
| Friday 12 May | 11:00 | Men’s 102kg (Group B) |
| 13:00 | Men’s 102kg (Group A) | |
| 16:00 | Men’s 109kg | |
| Saturday 13 May | 13:00 | Women’s +87kg |
| 18:00 | Men’s +109kg |
2023 Asian Weightlifting Championships athletes to watch
Over 260 weightlifters from across 40 nations are set to take part in the upcoming 2023 Asian Weightlifting championships. The list includes various world and Olympic champions. Given below are some of the athletes to watch out:
Li Fabin, People’s Republic of China, men’s 61kg
Li Fabin is a 30-year-old Olympic 61kg gold medallist who recently set a new clean and jerk world record in 2022 to regain his world title in Bogota.
Hsing-Chun Kuo, Chinese Taipei, women’s 59kg
Hsing-Chun Kuo is a Rio 2016 bronze medallist who also won gold in Tokyo. She is the favourite to win in Asia in the 59kg class.
Hidilyn Diaz (Philippines, women’s 59kg)
Hidilyn Diaz won the first Philippines’ first ever Olympic gold medal in 55kg at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She will be Kuo’s biggest challenge as she moves up to the 59 kg after the 55kg weight class was dropped from the programme for Paris 2024.
Diaz has opted not to defend her title at the Southeast Asian Games and instead chosen to compete in Korea. She is looking to collect early points for Paris qualifications and is currently training at the Waseda University in Japan.
Fares El-Bakh, Qatar, men’s 102kg
Fares El-Bakh, who is also known as Meso Hassouna, also had to bulk up with his weight class like Hidilyn. The 96kg Tokyo 2020 hero is Qatar’s first Olympic champion but that weight class got discarded ahead of Paris. Fares will once again battle it out with world silver medallist Reza Dehdar from the Islamic Republic of Iran.