Debutant Chinese Tang Falian stole the limelight on the first day of the World Junior Weightlifting Championships as she won the women's 48kg class gold medal.

The 18-year-old Tang, who has never competed in domestic or international championships, was beaten by Genny Pagliaro of Italy in the snatch by five kilos.

Tang steered a steady course in the jerk competition when she hoisted 100kg to surpass Pagliaro and Thip-Amon Phupruem of Thailand to clinch the gold medal in total at 175kg, which was 38kg less than the junior world record held by her compatriot Wang Mingjuan.

Phupruem, 18, snatched the silver at 172kg while Pagliaro took the bronze at the same weight due to the bodyweight disadvantage.

"It's my first international competition, so I felt nervous. Luckily, I won the gold medal finally," Tang said.

"She just joined the national team in January. I am satisfied with her performance," said Tang's coach Ma Wenhui, who also trains Olympic champion Liu Chunhong.

The seven-day championships attracts a total of 221 lifters from 44 delegations.

Source: Xinhua