Sanket Mahadev Sargar wins silver in weightlifting; bags India’s first medal in Commonwealth Games 2022 (ld)

Birmingham, July 30  Indian weightlifter Sanket Mahadev Sargar on Saturday won a silver medal in men’s 55kg category at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The 21-year-old, hailing from Sangli in Maharashtra, managed a total lift of 248kg (113kg in snatch and 135 kg in clean & jerk) to open India’s account in the ongoing multi-nation event.

Malaysia’s Mohamad Aniq Bin Kasdan won the gold medal with a total lift of 249kg (107 + 142, a Games record in clean & jerk), while Sri Lanka’s Dilanka Isuru Kumara Yodage took the bronze medal with an overall lift of 225kg (105 + 120) in the competition.

At the first hall of the National Exhibition Centre, Sargar began with a 107kg lift in his first attempt in the snatch phase of the competition. He later improved that with a 111kg lift and ended with a 113kg lift, which put him in an advantageous position through a six kg lead at the end of snatch lifts.

In the clean & jerk round, Sanket began with a successful lift of 135kg while Aniq and Yodage had successful lifts of 138kg and 120kg respectively. But in the process of clearing 139kg in his second attempt, Sanket injured his right elbow. Cheered on by the crowd, he tried to have a successful lift in third attempt but he grimaced in pain and couldn’t complete the lift.

In a thrilling finish to the finale, Aniq failed to lift 142kg in his second attempt. But in his third and final attempt, he finally managed to lift 142kg to set a Games record in the round and take the gold medal, pushing Sargar to silver medal with just one kg separating the duo on the table.