CWG 2018 | Vikas Thakur wins bronze in Men’s 95 kg weightlifting
India got its third bronze medal in all and second in weightlifting, as Vikas Thakur finished third in Men’s 95 kg where he amassed a total lift of 351 kg. However, the event’s highlight would definitely go to the winner Steven Kari and Boady Santavy, who lifted 370 kg and 369 kg respectively.
Vikas Thakur was one of India’s prime medal contenders in the weightlifting event, and the effortless manner in which he lifted his first snatch target of 152 kg, had given the crowd a new hope. It was followed by successful lifts of 156 kg and 159 kg respectively, with the only competitor for the Indian at that point being Canada’s Santavy.
The Canadian didn’t fail to send a message either as he started with 160 kg before a mix up by his support staff forced him to aim for a whopping 168 kg in the third and final snatch attempt. Santavy lifted it without breaking a sweat, making himself pretty much the only gold contender in that category.
The clean and jerk event started as expected with Thakur picking up 192 kg and Santavy lifting 196 kg quite easily, with the first two spots all but ensured. However, it was only after their second attempts that the game changer, Kari, stepped into the ring. The Papua & New Guinea man started off with a 202 kg in clean and jerk, as he could only lift 154 kg in the snatch event.
More than anything at that moment, he pushed Thakur’s silver chances to bed. And it was only securing a second spot that the lifter came after the gold, or more importantly, Santavy. The Canadian was advised by his coaches to let his last attempt go, as Kari needed 216 kg lift to leapfrog him to the top. However, with Kari’s last lift, he left everyone dumbfounded with a successful lift that not only took him to the top (370), but also broke the Commonwealth and Games Record.