It was a completely dominating performance from 20-year-old Achinta Sheuli as he bagged the gold medal in the men's 73kg weightlifting event of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The 20-year-old set a new Games record in both snatch (143kg) and overall lift (313kg) as he finished with a 10kg lead over Erry Hidayat Muhammad (303kg) of Malaysia, who finished second. Shad Darsigny of Canada with a total lift of 298kg took the bronze medal.
Prior to Achinta, Mirabai Chanu (women's 49kg) and Jeremy Lalrinnunga (men's 67kg) had won golds for India in weightlifting at Birmingham.
Achintya's medal took India's total medal tally to six and put the country in the fifth spot in the standings.
Achinta Sheuli began his snatch category with a 137kg lift in his first attempt, putting him straightaway on top in the 73kg category.
The West Bengal lifter then followed it up with an impressive 140kg lift in his second attempt but improved it even further when he lifted 143kg in his third attempt, thereby creating a new snatch Games record.
At the halfway stage, Achinta was leading the table with a five kg lead over second-placed Erry Hidayat Muhammad of Malaysia, who managed to lift 138kg in the snatch event.
The Indian continued his superb show with a 166kg lift in the first attempt of his clean and jerk. However, Achinta fumbled in his second attempt while trying to attempt a 170kg lift which might have offered him a safe lead at the top.
An unsuccessful second attempt did not stop the Indian as he came back and lifted 170kg in his final and third try, increasing his total to 313kg and thereby setting a new Games record in overall lift as well.
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