Yu Tingxiao became a dark horse on the opening day of the men's weightlifting competitions at the 10th National Games when he won the men's 56kg category last evening.

Yu Tingxiao, 30, from Sichuan province, defeated a group of established stars for the title with a total of 282.5kg.

Yu snatched 127.5kg and jerked 155kg to secure his title, defeating former world champion Lu Jinbi of Yunan to the second and Athens Olympic Games silver medalist Wu Meijin to the third.

Lu and Wu had accumulated lifts of 280kg and 277.5kg respectively.

Yu never expected he could win the title and his coach Shuai Yuqin said his best mark in previous events was the eighth place.

"Yu Tingxiao has taken part in four National Games and never won a gold before. We have never expected him to lift such a weight, the gold medal is a reward for his hard work," Shuai said.

Qiu Le, a new face in the nationalteam, made a strong hit at the 62kg category to claim his domination in domestic arena.

Qiu Le, who won the national championships in 2004 and 2005, showed his dominance when he hoisted 145kg in the snatch and jerked up 177.5kg for a winning total of 322.5kg.

Zhang Ping of Sichuan followed Qiu Le with a total result of 320kg and Qin Yifu, also from Guangxi, took the bronze at 315kg.

"I am satisfied with the result here. Next month, I am going tothe World Championships, so I hope I will win a gold in Doha too,"Qiu told reporters.

Qiu also hoped he and Zhang Ping, who will make their international debut in the Worlds, can seal the victory for China in the Worlds together.

"I beat Zhang Ping to take the gold medal in the National Games,but when we go to Doha, the country's honor will come first. I hope one of us will win the title there."

Zhang Ping, Qiu's teammate in the national team, said he will learn more from Qiu and lift a good result in the Worlds.

The men's weightlifting competition, which kicked off on Monday,features a total of 120 Herculeses, including Athens Olympic champion Shi Zhiyong and Zhang Guozheng, from 26 delegations across China.

Athens Olympic champions Shi Zhiyong and Zhang Guozheng will compete in the 69kg on Tuesday.