Shrestha lifted 146kg to surpass the previous best of 145kg lifted by Gyan Bahadur Shrestha during the 1999 South Asian Games held in Kathmandu. Shrestha lifted 110kg in the snatch to win gold with a total lift of 256kg. Tahal Singh Basyal of TAC finished third in the weight category.

In the men’s junior of the same weight category, Mohammad Aasik Hussain lifted 72kg in snatch and 90kg in clean & jerky for a total lift of 162kg to win gold. Sagar Bhandari of Kanchanpur finished second.

Gagan Singh Oli of TAC lifted 108kg in snatch and 135kg in clean & jerk to win the senior men’s 105kg gold. Gagan Chand of Nepal Police Club (NPC) ended up second. Rajeev Maharjan won the junior gold totalling 159kg—a snatch of 72kg and 87kg in clean & jerk.

Another Armyman Pukar Gurung won the men’s above 105kg gold, lifting a total of 225kg. He had 105kg in snatch and 120kg in clean & jerk. Sandesh Gurung of Chitwan won gold in the junior section for a total lift of 152kg—60kg in snatch and 92kg in clean & jerk.

The TAC domination continued on the second and final day with Olympian Kamal Bahadur Adhikari lifting 110kg in snatch and 145kg in clean & jerk for a total lift of 225kg in the senior men’s 69kg. Ashok Kumar Yadav of Dhanusha took gold in junior section with a lift of 152kg—67kg in snatch and 85kg in clean & jerk.

TAC also won the senior men’s 85kg gold medal with Bhairav Singh Thapa lifting a total of 222kg. Thapa snatched 95kg and lifted 127kg in clean & jerk. Nikesh Khati of Kanchanpur took the junior category gold with a total lift of 162kg, compiled from a lift of 70kg in snatch and 92kg in clean & jerk.

Likki Thapa of NPC was the only non-TAC winner of the day in the senior category when he won the 77kg gold medal with a total lift of 210kg. He had 95kg in snatch and 115kg in clean & jerk. Bishal Singh Bista of Kanchanpur won the junior category gold with 140kg—60kg in snatch and 80kg in clean & jerk.

The tournament, participated in by 54 men and 16 women lifters, also served as players’ selection for the upcoming Asian Weightlifting Championships slated here for July 22-31 next year.