Indian lifters on record breaking spree at Commonwealth event

New Delhi: Proving their might as one of the powerhouses in the Commonwealth realm, juniour Indian lifters created as many as 34 new records at the Youth, Junior & Senior Weightlifting Championships at Gold Coast, Australia.

On the final day of the competition yesterday, Pardeep Singh qualified for next year's Commonwealth Games with a gold medal. On Saturday, India bagged two gold metals, one silver and two bronze to wrap up their successful campaign.

According to reports, Pardeep finished on the top of the podium after lifting 147kg in snatch and 195kg in clean & jerk for a total of 342kg in 105kg category.

The young lifters thus overhauled the national senior record in the snatch event.

Gurdeep Singh (+105 kg) lifted an overall total of 371kg (171kg + 200kg) to settle for the bronze medal. He also created a new record in the snatch section.

In the men's junior division 105kg category, Lovepreet Singh finished with a gold medal with a total effort of 325kg (150kg + 175kg), while Tejpal Singh Sandhu (+105 kg) claimed a bronze with a lift of 313kg (135kg + 178kg).

Purnima Pandey clinched a silver in junior women +90kg with a lift of 94kg in snatch and 121kg in clean & jerk for a total of 215kg.

Earlier, India’s Saikhom Mirabai Chanu and K Sanjita Chanu had bagged a gold medal each at their respective weight categories and booked berths at next year’s Commonwealth Games to be held at the same Australian city.

India will host the 2019 edition of the Commonwealth (Youth, Junior and Senior) Weightlifting Championships.

The Executive Board of Commonwealth Weightlifting Federation met recently at Gold Coast, Australia and decided to allot the 2019 edition of the competitions to India.

(PTI inputs)