Li Zhou, with titles of national and Asian championships, collected a combined total of 200kgs for the gold, beating Thi WinKay of Myanmar to the second place.

The bronze medal went to Raema Lisa Rumbewas of Indonesia.

Li Zhuo, a Busan Asiad favorite, showed her dominating prowess from her third snatch which tied the world record of 90kgs after her first two attempts either tied or broke the Asian Games record,lifting 85kg and 87.5kg.

But she failed to jerk up 115.5kg in an attempt to dash the world record of 115.0kg and settled in 110kg, the same weight as Thi Win Kay did.

Her 90kg snatch also tied with that of Thi Win Kay, but a less weight of herself delivered her this much coveted first weightlifting gold.

"I'm not so satisfied with my performance today," said Li. "I expected to set a new world record but I failed."

Li, a 20-year-old strong woman from China's northeast Liaoning province, said she did not feel quite well at the competition, which partially contributed to her attempted battering to the world record.

"I have the knowledge of the other major competitors," she said."I was not nervous but didn't feel quite well. I'm a little lucky (in winning this gold."

But as a gold is the medal of golden tint, Li Shunzhu, head coach of the Chinese women weightlifting team, said he was satisfied with the result.

"She has a stable psychology and she is doing well," said Li.

The Chinese women lifters, sweeping seven golds in the last 13th Asian Games in Bangkok with a total of 13 world records broken for 17 times, have expected to cement their dominance in the Asiad.

Busan weightlifting competitions reeled off Monday in the Pukyong National University Gymnasium, where most of the spectators were Asiad accredited staff and cheer leaders from Myanmar, South Korea and DPR Korea.

One cheer squad carried a Korean Peninsular flag, a blue image of the Korean Peninsular on a white background.

(Xinhua News Agency September 30, 2002)