Beijing, Jul 8 (IANS): The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) executive board has approved new bodyweight categories for both World Championships and Olympic Games.

It's the third time for IWF to adjust bodyweight categories but it will be the first time that the new bodyweight categories will be applied for both World Championships and Olympic Games, reports Xinhua news agency.

Ten new bodyweight categories for women and ten new categories for men will replace the previous eight bodyweight categories for men and seven bodyweight categories for women to comply with the "equality for men and women" required by the IOC.

The new ten bodyweight categories for men are 55kg, 61kg, 67kg, 73kg, 81kg, 89kg, 96kg, 102kg, 109kg, and +109kg. For women, the new ten bodyweight categories are 45kg, 49kg, 55kg, 59kg, 64kg, 71kg, 76kg, 81kg, 87kg and +87kg.

However, the weightlifting competitions at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games will have only seven categories for both men and women. That means a total of 14 weightlifting gold medals will be up for grabs at the Tokyo Olympic Games, one less than that at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.