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OLYMPICS Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER August 15, 2016 August 15, 2016 Long Qingquan sets world record in winning Olympic weightlifting gold By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press IO DE JANEIRO — Long Qingquan of China set a world record in winning Olympic gold in the men’s weight- lifting 53-kilogram category at the Rio de Janeiro Games. Long’s total score of 307 kilograms set the record and was aided by a final 170-kilo lift in clean and jerk in what turned out to be a battle between former gold medallists. Long, a gold medallist in 2008, was leading the competition after the snatch and all the way through clean and jerk until Om Yun-Chol of North Korea lifted 169 kilograms on his final attempt to tie for the lead. Om won gold in London four years ago. Long then came out for his final lift, raised his bar and celebrated the gold medal by pumping his fists in the air. He won by just four kilograms over Om, and the mark beat the record of 305 kilograms that Halil Mutlu set at the 2000 Sydney Games. “I am really happy. I am really proud,” Long said. “I came to this competition with two dreams — to win the competition and break the world record and I did (both).” Long is the first weightlifter with eight years between his first and second gold medal, in any men’s or women’s event. “I have prepared for the competi- tion for four years because I did not get to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games,” he said. “After four years, I did it.” Long’s best snatch lift of 137 kilograms was two kilograms off the world record mark, set by fellow Chinese weightlifter Wu Jingbiao last year. Om took silver with 303 kilograms and was beaten for the first time in a major competition since he won gold in London. Sinphet Kruaithong of Thailand won bronze. He became the first Thai R SWEET SILVER. Gold medal winner Hsu Shu-Ching of Taiwan, center, stands with silver medal winner Hidilyn Diaz of the Philippines, left, and bronze medal winner Yoon Jin-hee of South Korea, right, after the women’s 53-kilogram weightlifting competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) Hidilyn Diaz’s weightlifting silver ends Philippines’ Olympic medal drought RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Philippines is celebrating the silver medal won by weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz at the Rio Olympics — a happy break to the Southeast Asian nation’s 20-year medal drought. Diaz competed in the women’s 53-kilogram weightlifting competition. President Rodrigo Duterte sent his congratulations to Diaz, an Air Force soldier, saying she brought honor to the country. Vice president Leni Robredo said Diaz serves as an inspiration to every Filipino and a reminder that no challenge is too heavy for a Filipino woman to overcome. The three-time Olympian’s medal is the Philippines’ first since boxer Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco won silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Cupping and coining: I did it long before Phelps Continued from page 4 charge a few hundred dollars for the service. Here we pay the equivalent of $3 for an hour-long session. Even Prime Minister Hun Sen has touted the benefits of coining and cupping. He has told journalists that his wife Bun Rany does it on him when he is sick. In ancient times, cup- ping was used to get rid of blood and pus when treat- ing skin abscess, but it has been expanded to treat tuberculosis and rheuma- tism. Because cupping was widely used in Chinese folklore culture, the tech- nique was inherited by modern Chinese practi- tioners. It is established as an official therapeutic practice in hospitals all over China. The U.S. National Institutes of Health says on its website that cupping “is considered generally safe for healthy people when performed by a trained health professional.” While saying the placebo effect may account for some claimed health benefits, it also cites recent research that found it may be an effective short-term treat- ment for chronic neck and lower-back pain. I ran into Sok Pheakdkey, a 39-year-old driver at a local construc- tion company, at a cupping clinic where he had undergone treatment for fever. “Now I feel I am fully recovered. Do you see the sweat coming from my head and back? That means the fever is gone,” he said. He said the medicines he bought from a pharmacy brought his fever down, but only for a while. “I don’t mean to say that I don’t trust medicines. But in my experience, the best way to treat these illnesses is coining and cupping. My body seems to be addicted to this type of treatment even though it hurts,” he said. The Cambodian Health Ministry does not advocate cupping, and warns that it could be a health risk. Health Ministry spokes- man Ly Sovann told me that the practice is not known to cure any illnesses, and in fact can be dangerous for people with high-blood pressure or heart problems. Still, the practice is not banned in the country because it is almost a way of life for Cambodians, he said. “My advice is that Cam- bodia people should start changing their habit. They should consult physicians or doctors first if their illness is something related to high-blood pressure and heart attack. Then after they talk with the doctor, of course, they can do coining or cupping if they prefer,” he said. TALKING STORY IN ASIAN AMERICA WEIGHTLIFTER’S WORLD RECORD. Long Qingquan of China competes in the men’s 56-kilogram weightlifting competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Long won the gold medal and set a world record. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) male to win an Olympic weightlifting which would make Hsu a double gold medal and the second weightlifter to medallist. “I am very happy and very excited,” win in Rio, joining Sopita Tanasan, who won gold in the women’s she said. Team doctor Lin Yin-Chou said 48-kilogram. Nine Thai women have Hsu was battling a strain in her won medals in weightlifting. In the women’s 53-kilogram thigh, and it was the “intelligence of category, Hsu Shu-Ching of Taiwan our coaches” that pushed her to gold. “We have been wanting this gold won her first Olympic gold medal when Li Yajun of China failed to medal for some time and it is especially pleasing because she has complete the clean and jerk. Li set an Olympic record in the first had an injury that she has been round snatch by lifting 101 kilograms carrying,” Lin said. A tearful Hidilyn Diaz of the Philip- to take the lead into the clean and jerk. She was the last lifter to pines won silver after failing to medal compete in the second round, and in the last two Olympics. She lifted in needed to lift 126 kilos to win gold. the 58-kilogram class in the 2008 Her high entry total on the start list Beijing Games as a 17-year-old and made her a favorite for the gold, but impressed many in the field, but she failed on all her attempts at clean and she failed to medal. When Li didn’t complete her score, jerk in London. Diaz dropped down to the gold went to Hsu, who lifted 100 the lighter class for Rio, which had kilos in snatch and 112 in clean and just seven competitors. “I have tried so hard. I have jerk for an overall score of 212 kilos. Hsu is the reigning world champion stumbled many times,” Diaz said. “I and won silver four years ago at the wanted to quit, but now all of my London Games. But London gold sacrifices have paid off.” Jin Hee Yoon of South Korea won medallist Zulfiya Chinshanlo of Kazakhstan failed a doping retest bronze. She had won silver at the and could have that medal revoked, 2008 Beijing Games. Only masters of spin win at Olympic-level table tennis Continued from page 4 ... they don’t need too much practice since they are already good. But we always need practice,” Dimitrij Ovtcharov, the German world No. 5 player and the bronze medallist in London, said in an interview after a practice session at the Riocentro arena. Ovtcharov notes two Chinese players who were practicing nearby, world No. 1 Ma Long and world No. 3 Xu Xin, were rocketing the ball at each other in a rally that lasted for what seemed like half-an hour, their wrists flicking the ball so that it spun in a blur just over the net, each player progressively moving back from the table until they were 10 feet away, yet still putting the ball exactly where they wanted. “They are practicing the whole day because of spin,” Ovtcharov said. “Repetition after repetition will get you more feeling, and if you get more feeling you will react better under pressure.” Spin, done right, is often ugly — or unnoticed Another paradox about spin: Despite its importance, not many people watching the Olympics realize it’s happening at all. The rapid rotation on the small ball is simply too hard to see. Therefore, some spectators will be confused when an opponent botches a return of a masterful slow-topspin shot, for instance, wondering why that’s so much harder to hit than a scorching smash. Spin is also a great leveller. When two players who know each other’s game intimately play against each other, table tennis is often very fun to watch: long, exciting exchanges, with smash after smash. “But if you don’t know each other so well, the game doesn’t look so nice sometimes because the players don’t adapt to each other’s spin,” Ovtcharov said. “With no spin, the better one would have it a lot easier and there would be a lot less surprises.” The game is filled with specialists, like the Spaniard He, who deceive and frustrate opponents with spin. It’s not always pretty, but it works. Spin can often be seen in the games of “choppers,” defensive specialists who use backspin to slowly chop an attacking opponent’s ball back at them, over and over, negating attacks and waiting for a mistake. It only works with spin. The Asian Reporter is published on the first & third Monday each month. News page advertising deadlines for our next two issues are: September 5 to 18, 2016 edition: n Polo Space reservations due: Wednesday, August 31 at 1:00pm Artwork due: Thursday, September 1 at 1:00pm September 19 to October 2, 2016 edition: Polo’s “Talking Story” column will return soon. Space reservations due: Wednesday, September 14 at 1:00pm Artwork due: Thursday, September 15 at 1:00pm