 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Indian heavyweight lifter Vikas Thakur added yet another Commonwealth Games medal to his kitty, winning a silver in the men's 96kg in Birmingham on Tuesday.
The seasoned Thakur lifted a total of 346kg (155kg+191kg) to finish second and claim his third CWG medal across three editions.
It was Thakur's second silver, having finished second in the 2014 Glasgow edition as well. In Gold Coast, he had returned with a bronze.
Samoa's Don Opeloge 381kg (171kg+210kg) bettered his 2018 silver by clinching gold with a record-breaking performance.
"I'm very happy to have won my third CWG medal. Today also happens to be my mom's (Asha Devi Thakur's) birthday. I want to dedicate this medal to her," Thakur said after the win.
A massive 35kg separated him from the 'Don' of Samoa but the 28-year-old is confident that he would improve and match his standards in near future.
"Last time in 2018, I had to change my category and in 85kg Rahul (Venkat Ragala) had defeated him (Opeloge). I had an injury and had to play in 94kg and won the bronze (at Gold Coast).
"It's good for us that the standard is improving in CWG. We have been dominating in this discipline. But we have to still work hard to achieve the world standard," Thakur said.
Fiji's Taniela Tuisuva Rainibogi walked away with the bronze with a total effort of 343kg (155kg+188kg).
Thakur, a five-time Commonwealth Championships medallist, had three clean lifts of 149kg, 153kg and 155kg to be in joint third-position after the snatch round.
In the clean and jerk section, Thakur started off with a 187kg lift, which he executed perfectly.
His second attempt of 191kg took some effort but the 28-year-old Punjab lifter was able to pull it off and celebrated it with a 'thigh-five' made popular by Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan.
With a silver assured, Thakur went for 198kg, a kilogram more than his personal best, in his third attempt but was unsuccessful.
But the event belonged to Opeloge, who smashed the Games record in snatch, clean and jerk and total lift.
The 23-year-old Samoan celebrated his stellar show with a groovy dance at the end as his shirtless coach Seven Fitu joined him in the impromptu jig.
It was heartbreak for home favourite Cyrille Tchatchet who failed to register a single legal lift in clean and jerk. Cyproit lifter Antonis Martasidis too endured a similar fate.
Both Tchatchet and Martasidis were medal contenders.