Nijat Rahimov

The Chinese superstar Lu Xiaojun, fancied to triumph in the men’s 77kg weightlifting challenge, was left stunned when Kazakhstan’s Nijat Rahimov smashed a world record to grab the gold on Wednesday.

Rahimov, who served a two-year (2013-2015) doping ban, after testing positive for illegal substances while representing Azerbaijan, dramatically broke the clean and jerk world record by four kgs to pip Xiaojun. 

The 22-year-old, who changed allegiance to Kazakhstan after returning from his ban, had to lift 214kg to win, four kgs more than Xiaojun's clean and jerk world record. Rahimov made the lift for a total of 379kg, matching Lu’s effort. But Rahimov was adjudged champion by virtue of his lighter bodyweight.