Indian weightlifters continued to disappoint with Rustam Sarang and Omkar Otari finishing ninth and 11th in the men's 62kg category on the second day of the competition in the Asian Games in Guangzhou on Sunday.
Sarang and Otari, who finished fourth and fifth respectively in Commonwealth Games, had a remote chance to win a medal in a strong field which had the two podium and the fourth-place finishers of the World Championships in Turkey in September.
The two Indians came up with below par performances and had to content with places at the lower half of the results chart.
Sarang lifted 264kg(117+147), seven kilograms less than his fourth-place finish effort in the Commonwealth Games and 57 kilogram adrift of the gold medal winner in the event.
Otari had a total of 260kg (120+140), five kilogram less than his lift in his fifth-place finish in the CWG.
Zhang Jie, who won silver in the World Championships, upstaged his Korean rival world champion Kim Un Guk, to win gold by lifting 321kg (145+176). Zhang's effort was six kilogram more than his World Championships silver-winning lift.
Kim, the world leader this season till Sunday's competition, had a total lift of 317kg (147+170), three kilogram less than his 320kg effort in the World Championships.
Indonesia's Irwan Eko Yuli grabbed the bronze with a total lift of 311kg (141+170). Yuli had finished a fourth in the World Championships and he is the number three ranked lifter in Asia this season.
India did not field any lifter in the women's 53kg category competition, which was on Sunday.
On Saturday, Srinivasa Rao and Sukhen Dey had finished eighth and 10th in men's 56kg while Soniya Chanu and Sandhyarani Devi ended at fifth and sixth respectively in women's 48kg.
On Monday, Commonwealth Games gold medal winner and India's lone medal prospect in the Asian Games, K Ravi Kumar will compete in the men's 69kg category.
Another CWG gold winner, Rebubala Chanu (women's 58kg) did not travel to Guangzhou because of medical reasons though she was in the weightlifting squad.
