India won their ninth medal in weightlifting at the 2022 Commonwealth Games when Lovepreet Singh clinched bronze in the men’s 109kg event in Birmingham on Wednesday.

Lovepreet lifted 163kg in snatch and 192kg in clean and jerk for a total of 355kg, six kilos clear of the fourth-placed lifter.

Cameroon’s Junior Periclex Ngadja Nyabeyeu lifted 361kg (160kg snatch and 201kg C&J) to claim gold ahead of Samoa’s Jack Hitila Opeloge who lifted 358kg (164kg snatch and 194kg C&J).

CWG 2022 Day 6 blog

Lovepreet, who was the only lifter to successfully make all six lifts, finishing snatch in joint third with Canada’s Pierre-Alexandre Bessette. Australia’s Jackson George Roberts-Young fell behind in the medal contention by registering only one successful lift of 145kg.

Bessette stumbled in the clean and jerk, failing with a 2nd attempt of 182kg. Lovepreet then was successful with his first lift of 185kg and Bessette responded with a third lift of 186kg. Lovepreet went three kilos clear of the Canadian with a 189kg lift and increased the gap to six kg with a 192kg final lift.

Roberts-Young had an outside chance to win bronze having lifted 202kg in clean and jerk to move within 8 kilos of Lovepreet. However, he failed to lift 211kg with his final attempt and finished fifth.

India are first in the weightlifting medal standings with three gold, three silver and three bronze medals with Canada in second place with eight medals.

CWG 2022 Weightlifting medal standings