Indians continued their good form in the weightlifting arena of the 2018 Commonwealth Games (CWG 2018) on Saturday, with Sathish Kumar Sivalingam winning gold in the 77kg event in Gold Coast. Sivalingam’s gold is India’s third from the Games so far after Mirabai Chanu and Sanjita Chanu’s gold in the opening two days.
Sivalingam lifted 144 kg in his third attempt in snatch and followed it up with a 173 kg in his second attempt in clean and jerk to record a total of 317 kg to claim gold, successfully defending the CWG title he won four years back in Glasgow.
The Indian beat Jack Oliver of England (312 kg total) by 5 kg. Francois Etoundi of Australia, despite a vocal support from the fans at the arena, could only manage 305 kg to finish in bronze medal position.
The seasoned Sivalingam, who holds the CWG record in snatch (149 kg which he set in Glasgow 2014) couldn’t better it but was visibly happy finishing on top.
Sivalingam did not enjoy a great start as he could only manage a lift of 136 kg in his opening attempt in the snatch and 140 in his second.
The 25-year-old then hoisted 144 kg in his third attempt to ensure second place in the standings with Oliver in pole position.
The Englishman topped the snatch phase with 145 kg in his second attempt. But a failed attempt at 148 kg in his final attempt meant he could only take a lead of one kilogram into the clean and jerk stage.
Sivalingam showed his true class in the clean and jerk as he comfortably managed 169 kg in his first attempt to go into the lead.
With Oliver and Etoundi managing only one successful lift each, the Indian lifted 173 kg in his second attempt to ensure the gold medal.
Sivalingam’s lead was so defining that he did not need to come out for his third attempt as Oliver and Francois could only manage 167 kg and 162 kg respectively in clean and jerk.
Source Times Of India
