Indian heavyweight lifter Vikas Thakur added yet another Commonwealth Games medal to his kitty, winning a silver in the men's 96kg in Birmingham on Tuesday.
Indian heavyweight lifter Vikas Thakur added yet another Commonwealth Games medal to his kitty, winning a silver in the men's 96kg in Birmingham on Tuesday.
The seasoned Thakur lifted a total of 346kg (155kg+191kg) to finish second and claim his third CWG medal across three editions. It was Thakur's second silver, having finished second in the 2014 Glasgow edition as well.
The 'V' in Vikas Thakur stands for victory! 🤩
Vikas Thakur adds another medal to India's tally at Commonwealth Games 2022 with a silver in men's 96Kg weightlifting with a total lift of 3️⃣4️⃣6️⃣Kg ! 🥈 🏋️ | pic.twitter.com/m9DXND9djQ
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In Gold Coast, he had returned with a bronze. Samoa's Don Opeloge 381kg (171kg+210kg) bettered his 2018 silver by clinching gold with a record-breaking performance. Fiji's Taniela Tuisuva Rainibogi walked away with the bronze with a total effort of 343kg (155kg+188kg).
Thakur, a five-time Commonwealth Championships medallist, had three clean lifts of 149kg, 153kg and 155kg to be in joint third position after the snatch round.
In the clean and jerk section, Thakur started off with a 187kg lift, which he executed perfectly. His second attempt was 191kg, which took some effort but the Punjab lifter was able to pull it off and celebrated it with a 'thigh-five' made popular by Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan.
Weight lifting time!
And he DID IT @191kgs just now
GRIT and hardwork pic.twitter.com/eU2lB3LtE4
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With a silver assured, Thakur went for 198kg, a kilogram more than his personal best, in his third attempt but was unsuccessful. But the event belonged to Opeloge, who smashed the Games record in snatch, clean and jerk and total lift.
The 23-year-old Samoan celebrated his stellar show with a groovy dance at the end. It was heartbreak for home favourite Cyrille Tchatchet who failed to register a single legal lift in clean and jerk.
Here's a look at some of the congratulatory messages pouring in for Vikas Thakur on Twitter:
weightlifter wins SILVER 🥈Medal
Congratulations, champ🏆🏆 Impressive performance!! | | pic.twitter.com/Q55bNE16Zi
A fantastic performance by Vikas Thakur as he wins his 3rd Consecutive medal 🥈🥉🥈 at the clinching a silver🥈 in Men's 96kg Final with a total lift of 346Kg 🏋♂️ !
Snatch- 155kg
Clean & Jerk- 191kg pic.twitter.com/AxLVVIqZbU
Brilliant Performance!
Making the nation proud, won the Silver medal in 96Kg at .
Congratulations and lots of blessings on your future endeavors.
pic.twitter.com/kLl6pFaiov
Congratulations Vikas Thakur for making India Proud by winning a Silver Medal in 96kg weightlifting.
The whole nation is thrilled to see your spectacular performance! 🇮🇳🥈
Another SILVER 🥈 for India 🇮🇳 !!!
Beaming with confidence, Congratulations to Vikas Thakur for winning Silver🥈medal in the event at .
Great performance champion 🏆 pic.twitter.com/lFX9DPMokb
Another good news from 🏋️ for India 🇮🇳
Congratulations Vikas Thakur for winning the silver 🥈 in Men’s 96 KG category. pic.twitter.com/sTPtWCTds1
Some Heavy Lifting.!
Team 🇮🇳 weightlifter 🏋🏻♀️ Vikas Thakur bags the 🥈 in the Men’s 96 KG category. pic.twitter.com/77n4fGgavN
Weightlifter wins SILVER 🥈 in the Men’s 96kg category with a humongous lift of 346kg (Snatch- 155kg, Clean & Jerk- 191kg)
Super impressive performance!! Congratulations, Champ!👏🇮🇳 | | pic.twitter.com/7Cm6IfIEjn
(With inputs from PTI)