Glasgow: Olympic medallist Mirabai Chanu underlined her status as India’s greatest weightlifter of her generation with a record-shattering third successive Commonwealth Games gold, while Rishikanta Singh battled injury to claim a historic silver as the country enjoyed a productive day at the Games here Sunday.
Mirabai was in a league of her own in the women’s 48kg competition, rewriting the Commonwealth and Commonwealth Games record books en route to lifting 190kg (85kg snatch and 105kg clean and jerk).
It was India’s first gold in this edition of the Games and third medal overall so far. Para powerlifter Jhandu Kumar had opened India’s medal account with a bronze in the men’s heavyweight event on Friday.
The 31-year-old Manipuri overcame a missed opening attempt in both the snatch and clean and jerk before recovering in trademark fashion to finish a massive 22kg ahead of Nigeria’s Ruth Asuquo Nyong, who settled for silver with 168kg.
Having already secured the title and with the Asian Games less than two months away, Mirabai opted to skip her final clean and jerk attempt after breaking the Commonwealth Games records in clean and jerk and total lift.
Before Mirabai’s gold-winning show, Rishikanta Singh settled for a silver in the men’s 60kg category after an injury denied him a realistic shot at gold.
The Manipuri lifter matched the Commonwealth Games record in the snatch with a 121kg effort and entered the clean and jerk in the lead.
However, he could manage only 143kg after failing his final two attempts, finishing with a total of 264kg.
Malaysia’s Mohamad Aniq Kasdan seized the opportunity by producing a Games record 152kg clean and jerk for a winning total of 273kg, while Kenya’s Joshua Amunga Mboya claimed bronze with 260kg.
Rishikanta later revealed that a knee injury suffered a week before the competition resurfaced during the clean and jerk phase, robbing him of the power needed to complete his heavier lifts.
“I came here for gold. After the snatch, I was in the leading position, but my knee created a problem. I was able to clean the weight but could not push because one thigh was not working properly. I tried my best,” he told PTI.
The 28-year-old nevertheless scripted history by becoming the first male weightlifter from Manipur to win a Commonwealth Games medal and the first from the state to compete in the sport at the Games.
Swimmers stay in medal hunt
In swimming, India’s men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team kept medal hopes alive by qualifying for the final after finishing third in their heat.
The quartet of Dhakshan Shashikumar, Aneesh Sunil Kumar Gowda, Aryan Nehra and Srihari Nataraj clocked 7:39.48 to finish behind Australia and England in their heat and qualified fifth overall across the two heats.
The Indians produced a strong finish to edge past Jersey and secure their place in the eight-team final.
Disappointment from Lawn Bowls Arena
There was disappointment in lawn bowls, where Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh saw their three-match winning streak end with a narrow defeat to Namibia in the women’s pairs sectional event.
After losing the opening set 5-7, the Indians bounced back to dominate the second 10-1 before going down 0-3 in the tie-break to Amanda Steenkamp and Diana Viljoen.
The Indian pair will now face England in their final sectional match, with a semifinal berth at stake.
