Chinese strongwoman Shu Jie'an hoisted 248kg in total to win the women's 63kg gold medal at the Asian Weightlifting Championships held in Tian'an in east China's province on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old lifted 110kg in the snatch and 138kg in the jerk for the top honor.

Thi Thiet Nguyen from Vietnam took the silver at 215kg. Somarani Chanu Thongam from India settled for the bronze at 188kg.

In snatch, Shu, the 2005 national champion, succeeded in her first two lifts breezily, but failed to manage 113kg in her last attempt. Yet, her mark was still 15kg more than that for the runner-up.

In jerk, she made two good lifts of 132kg and 138kg, but failed again in challenging 140kg in her last lift.

Though winning the gold medal, Shu was not very satisfied. "I didn't perform very well," Shu said, "I made 140kg in the jerk during the training, but I couldn't exceed myself in the competition."

Shu's previous best total is 245kg, namely 11kg shy of the world record set up by Thongsuk Pawina of Thailand in 2005.
"The gold medal is just a start," Shu added, "I will try my best in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing."

Li Shunzhu, coach of the Chinese women's weightlifting team, said that "Shu has shown the success of our winter training. She displayed her capability in the competition."