CWG 2018 | Deepak Lather wins first bronze for India
Deepak Lather continued India’s glorious form in weightlifting at the Games as he cinched a bronze in Men’s 69 kg category. After finishing with a promising 136 lift in the snatch event, the Indian ace did brilliantly in the clean and jerk event before eventually crumbling down in the last attempt.
India got its second medal of Day 2 in the form of Lather’s bronze who had to fight it till the last drop of sweat in a cut-throat group. Despite finishing with a lift of 136 in the snatch event, Lather found himself second on the list after Sri Lanka’s Indika C. Dissanayake Mudiyanselage, who lifted 137.
However, when 18-year-old Lather brilliantly lifted 155 kg and 159 kg in the clean and jerk event consecutively, he looked like topping the group for a moment. But, it wasn’t to happen as Wales’ Gareth Evans kept breathing hard on his shoulders and eventually ended with a lift of 299 to win the gold medal.
However, it was the last lift of Samoa’s Vaipava Ioane that took away the show. Starting with a lift as low as 125 kg from the snatch event, the weightlifter shocked everyone with a brilliant 167 kg in his very first attempt. And had he not missed the audacious targeted lift of 175 kg, he would have surpassed Evans to the top spot and Lather would have finished without a medal.
India have now won four medals in weightlifting. While P Gururaja won a silver in the 56kg category, Mirabai Chanu won the gold in the 48 kg category. Day 2 also started with Sanjita Chanu Khumukcham winning the gold in the 53 kg category before Lather won the bronze.