Birmingham: With an assured performance, India’s 20-year-old weightlifter Achinta Sheuli won gold in the men’s 73kg division at the Commonwealth Games 2022, lifting a new games record total of 313kg at the NEC Hall number 1 in Birmingham.
He won the competition with lifts of 143 kg in the snatch and 170 kg in the clean and jerk, beating off Malaysia’s Erry Hidayat Muhammad for silver with a total of 303 kg and S. Darsigny of Canada for bronze with a total of 298 kg.
The gold medal won by Sheuli is India’s third at these 2022 Commonwealth Games and its sixth overall, all in weightlifting.
Sheuli, a 20-year-old former tailor from the West Bengali area of Howrah, was the favourite in the 73kg category and won by snatching 143kg.
He began the clean and jerk with 165 kg on his first try, which put him 1 kilogramme in front of the Malaysian.
The Indian athlete’s total of 313kg, a Commonwealth Games record, was reached after he successfully lifted 170kg on his third attempt after failing to do so on his first two attempts.
Muhammad of Malaysia tried desperately but in vain to lift 175 kg to surpass the Indian, but failed after two tries, handing Sheuli the gold medal.
