Indian weightlifters operated on a whole different level on Day two of the Commonwealth Games on Saturday. It all started with Sanket Sargar's silver and ended with silver. In between, Mirabai Chanu brought home gold, and Poojary fought to win a bronze.
Bindyarani's Triumph
Bindyarani Devi put up an absolutely terrific show to bring home India's fourth medal on Day two of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Soon after Mirabai Chanu's gold, the 23-year-old created a Games record by lifting 116kg in the clean and jerk after a personal best of 86kg in the snatch section, totalling 202 kg on Saturday.
The gold medal expectedly went to Nigeria's Adijat Adenike Olarinoye, who lifted 203kg (92kg+111kg). She also smashed the Games record in snatch and total effort.
Local favourite England's Fraer Morrow bagged the bronze with a 198kg effort (89kg+109kg). "It is my first CWG and I feel very happy about the silver and about the Games record as well," Bindyarani said.
Like Chanu, Bindyarani too hails from Manipur. She had won the Commonwealth Championships gold in 2019 before getting a silver in the 2021 edition.
Daughter of a farmer who also owns a grocery shop, Bindyarani took up weightlifting due to her short height.
"I was into taekwondo from 2008 to 2012 after that I shifted to weightlifting. I had a height problem so had to shift. Everyone told me my height is ideal for weightlifting. So I changed."
Bindyarani was in the bronze medal finish after the snatch section with a personal best of 86kg, behind Olarinoye (92kg) and Fraer (89kg).
The Indian made an unsuccessful second attempt for 115 kg before lifting a kilogram more to elevate her to silver medal position from bronze as Morrow fluffed her final 115kg attempt.
Mirabai Chanu's Triumph
The Olympics medallist Chanu thrashed the opponents by lifting a total weight of 201 kg, which is a new record at the games.
Marie Ranaivosoa bagged the silver medal with an overall lift of 172 kg with 76 kg in snatch and 96 kg in clean and jerk. This means Chanu was an undisputed winner with a gap of 29 kg in the first and the second spot. On the other hand, Hannah Kaminski finished with the bronze by 171 kg lift with 74 kg in snatch and 97 kg in clean and jerk.
Chanu registered a record at Commonwealth Games by lifting 88kg in her second attempt of the snatch. She lifted 84 kg in her 1st attempt of snatch. However, she failed to lift 90kg in her third attempt.
When it comes to the clean and jerk, Manu lifted 109 kg in the first attempt, and 113 kg in the second attempt but failed to lift 115 kg in the third attempt.
The 27-year-old had earlier won the silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and had won the gold during the 2018 edition of the multi-nation event.
Gururaja Poojary's Triumph
Gururaja lifted 118 kg in his 2nd attempt of snatch. His first attempt was 115 kg and he failed to lift 120 kg on the third attempt.
When it came to clean and jerk, Poojary lifted 144 kg in the first attempt, and 148 kg in the second attempt by registering his personal best. However, he confirmed a medal for India in his third attempt with a brilliant lifting of 151 kg.
Gururaja's bronze win added the 127th medal to the tally of India's weightlifting medals in the Commonwealth. Gururaja had earlier won the silver medal at the 2018 CWG event in the 56kg category.
Sanket Sargar's Triumph
Sanket lifted 113 kg in his third attempt of snatch after lifting 111 kg and 107 kg in his second and first attempts, respectively.
In his first attempt of clean and jerk, he lifted 135 kg but missed the weight of 139 kg in his second and third attempts.
Just when it seemed that India might finish at the top, Malaysian weightlifter Aniq Kasdan clinched the gold medal by surpassing Sanket with an overall difference of just 1 kg. On the other hand, Dilanka Yodage from Sri Lanka lifted 225 kg and finished with a bronze medal.
