India got first medal in weightlifting at Commonwealth Games 2022
Sanket Sargar won silver in weightlifting, giving India its first medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Sanket Sargar of Maharashtra made history on Saturday, July 30, when he became the first Indian athlete to take home a medal from the Commonwealth Games 2022. The 21-year-old took home the silver medal in Birmingham’s men’s 55kg weightlifting competition.
Sanket Sargar finished second to Malaysia’s Aniq Mohamad, who won gold with a total of 249 kg, in the men’s 55 kg competition with a total of 248 kg (113 kg in the snatch and 135 kg in the clean and jerk) (107kg in snatch, 142kg in clean and jerk).
Aniq Mohamad needed to lift 142 kg in the clean and jerk to break the Commonwealth record, making the final thrilling till the very end.
When Sanket Sargar attempted to lift 139 kg in his second clean and jerk effort, he injured his elbow. He persisted despite his wounds and made one more effort. Sargar, however, was only able to lift 139 pounds and took second place. Dilanka Yodage of Sri Lanka won the bronze medal with a total weight of 225 kg.
Sanket Sargar, the national champion, was one of the favourites to bring home a medal for India in weightlifting, which has historically been a major source of medals at Commonwealth Games. Sargar was also the Khelo India Youth Games and the Khelo India University Games champion in 2020.
By producing some cool, collected lifts in the snatch and clean and jerk categories in the men’s 55kg final, the Indian weightlifter lived up to the expectations.
SARGAR Wins the Round of Snatch
Sanket Sagar was at his best when he cleared all three of his weights on his first attempt in the snatch event at the Asian qualifications in Singapore in February 2022, breaking both the national and Commonwealth records (snatch – 113kg; clean and jerk – 143kg; total of 256kg).
Aniq Mohamad of Malaysia, Sargar’s highly anticipated opponent, matched Sargar’s initial lift of 107 kg with 107 kg on his first attempt.
But Sargar increased his advantage by lifting 111 kg in his second effort at snatch. Dilanka Yogade of Sri Lanka started with 105 kg, but he dropped behind as the Indo-Malaysian rivalry enraged the Birmingham audience.
Aniq Mohamad made two efforts to lift 111 kg, but was unsuccessful. In contrast, Sargar increased his lead to 6 kg by snatching 113 kg in his final try.
WHO IS SKETCH SARGAR?
Sanket Sargar assists his father, who runs a pan shop and a food stall in Sangli, Maharashtra. Sanket Sargar, who started wrestling when he was 13 years old, has been placing third at important international competitions, such as the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in 2021 in Tashkent.
Sargar, who is one of renowned weightlifting instructor Vijay Sharma’s favourite pupils, arrived in Birmingham a month in advance since the Indian government had planned a training camp for the weightlifters there to help them adjust to the surroundings.
Now a Commonwealth Games winner, Sargar is determined to stop his father from working as hard as he has to support his family. The young man, who has built a name for himself on the international stage, will be eager to qualify for the Olympics in Paris and build upon his recent recognition as one of the greatest weightlifters in the nation.