Weightlifter Satish Kumar Sivalingam lived up to his favourite tag to retain the men’s 77kg gold medal with a total lift of 317 kg, to take India’s medal tally to three golds, one silver and one bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast.
All of India’s medals have so far come from the weightlifting arena. World champion Mirabai Chanu had opened India’s gold medal account on the opening day while Sanjita Chanu added a second on Friday in the women’s 53kg category.
The 25-year-old Sathish was considered a run-away favourite to retain the gold he won four years ago in Glasgow but surprised everyone with his choice of just 136 kg to begin the Snatch lifts. He eventually ended up lifting 144 kg in the third and final Snatch, but trailed England’s Jack Oliver by one kilogram after the latter failed to lift 148 kg in his third Snatch.
With no other lifter anywhere near the duo, it was expected to be a fight till the end between Sathish and Oliver. Sathish took the lead after the first Clean and Jerk attempt, lifting one kilogram more than Oliver and by the time he came back for his second attempt, he was well aware that the gold medal was already in the bag.
Oliver failed to lift 171 kg in his second and third attempts as he could not steady himself clearly to satisfy the judges. Sathish celebrated the title with an effortless lift of 173 kg and the smile on his face spoke of the jubilation in his mind.
He ultimately decided not to go for the last lift of 180 kg as the Games Record of 333 kg by Nauru’s Yukio Peter was still out of reach.
Australia’s Francois Etoundi bagged the bronze medal with a total of 305 kg after Canada’s Nicolas Vachon failed to lift 175 kg in his third attempt and Kiribati’s Taretiita Tabaroua registered a no lift in Clean and Jerk at 176kg.
