Fernando Agad made his first-ever stint at the World Weightlifting Championships count, finishing in eighth place among a solid 17-man field in the men’s minus-55 kilogram division, Wednesday at the Uzbekistan Sports Center in Tashkent.
The 19-year-old upstart from Cebu ended as the second placer in the second group with 239 kilograms, just three kilograms off Colombia’s Miguel Suarez’ 242 and a solitary kilo ahead Indonesian youngster Satrio Adi Nugroho.
Agad was able to easily lift 104 kg to start his campaign but had some troubles with the bar three kilograms heavier. Nonetheless, when the Philippine coaches opted to skip 107 kg for 108 later on, the Cebuano lifter finally got it up.
Daniel Lungu of Moldova could have extended his lead in the snatch, but could not tackle 114 kg on his two attempts. He thus settled for 109, just a kilogram ahead of Agad and Nugroho.
Suarez then flexed his skills on the clean and jerk to zoom into the lead with 138 kg for the said portion and for a 242 kg total.
Agad, on his part, settled for the 131 kg on the clean and jerk as his two attempts at 136 went begging, thus giving him his final score at 239.
Later in the day, Suarez’s 138 kg remained the standard for the clean and jerk before Kazakhstan’s Arli Chortey added two kilograms into that in his own take in the clean and jerk.
Chortey eventually added two more kilos for a 142 in the said portion, bringing his total to 260 and eventually winning the world title. The Kazakh also bagged a silver in the snatch with 118 kg and the bronze for his 142 in the clean and jerk.
Thailand’s Thada Somboon-uan held his fort with the total silver on a score of 256 kg. Bulgaria’s Angel Ruzlev completed the main podium with 254, off a solid gold medal-winning clean and jerk lift of 144 kg.
Mansour Al-Saleem of Saudi Arabia bagged the snatch gold with 118 kg, despite failing to make a lift in the clean and jerk and, hence, to come up with a total score. Turkey’s Muammer Sahin took the bronze in the said portion with 116 kg.
