Lifting fights for Olympic survival

North Korea's Om Yun-Chol celebrates after breaking the world record in the men's 56kg weightlifting event during the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon JAKARTA, Indonesia — Doping -ravaged weightlifting begins its Asian Games competition on Monday without a banned traditional powerhouse and with the sport’s boss warning it would “slowly disappear” if it were to lose its Olympic status.

No fewer than 12 world records were broken at an explosive 2014 Asiad in Incheon but now the sport needs to prove it can comply with world anti-doping standards to lift the threat of Olympic expulsion.

China dominated four years ago with seven golds, five silvers and two bronzes, but none of its lifters will be in Jakarta.

It is among nine nations currently serving a 12-month International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) ban after its reanalyzed drugs tests from the 2008 and 2012 Olympics returned at least three positives.

Kazakhstan, which was prominent with one gold and three silvers in 2014, is another of the nine banned, while Malaysia pulled its team because of its athletes’ poor doping record.

North Korea had seen three of its four gold-medal winners from Incheon 2014 subsequently banned for failed drugs tests, but remain a favorite to top the medal count in China’s absence.

Weightlifting is assured of its place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games but the drugs-tarnished sport is attempting a cultural change to prevent it being dropped from the program for Paris 2024.

IWF president Tamas Ajan issued a stern warning last month that the sport would fall off the map if it were to lose its Olympic status.

The IWF delivered a report in June detailing how it had met anti-doping requirements demanded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

However, the IOC decided to leave to sport on probation until after the Asian Games and November’s World Championships.