Romanian athlete Mihaela Cambei won the silver medal in the 49kg weightlifting competition at the Olympic Games.

It is the eighth medal Team Romania won at this year's Olympic Games. Romania currently ranks 14th in the medal tabel. 

Chinese Hou Zhihui won the silver, while Thailand's Surodchana Khambao took the bronze medal.

Twenty-one-year-old Cambei, who is participating in the Olympics for the first time, won the gold medal last year in the women's 49 kg event at the European Weightlifting Championships.

Carambei said she had been training for the event for the past two years and was hoping for the bronze medal but was not expecting to take the second place.

The last weightlifting Olympic medal for Team Romania was won by Nicu Vlad in 1996 at the games held in Atlanta.

(Photo: Cristian Nistor/ COSR Facebook page)

simona@romania-insider.com