Rira Suzuki and Ibuki Takahashi reached the podium at the weightlifting world championships in Uzbekistan on Wednesday, taking silver and bronze, respectively, in the women's 49-kg division.
The 23-year-old Suzuki totaled 179 kg — with a 78 kg snatch and 101 kg clean and jerk — to finish 12 kg behind gold medalist Surodchana Khambao of Thailand.
Takahashi, 24, snatched 71 kg and lifted 101 kg in the clean and jerk, falling short of the 186-kg total that won her the Japanese national title last month.
The world championships opened Tuesday in Tashkent and will run until Dec. 17.
The powerful Chinese squad and a number of other top competitors have chosen to skip the tournament owing to concerns about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.