(Sports news) A total of 72 nations will be participating in the Commonwealth Games 2022 including India as CWG 2022 will see the Indian athletes competing in 20 sports and has over 200 athletes or players that will compete in 16 sports including hockey, cricket, badminton, and athletics, to name a few. India in the previous 18 appearances in Commonwealth Games has won over 181 gold medals. Their best tournament came in 2010 when CWG was held in Delhi where they won 101 medals and were second in the overall medal tally that year. India hopes to better their medal haul or even get close to their 2010 edition so let us take a look at the winners in the ongoing games.
1. Mirabai Chanu
Mirabai Chanu, an Olympic Silver medalist went on a record-smashing spree in Commonwealth Games 2022 as she went to claim four records in a power-packed performance. She claimed India’s first Gold Medal at Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham. Chanu started the competition by snatching 84 kg and then increased weight gradually to 88 kg before failing to lift 90 kg. Even those two lifts gave her a massive 14 points advantage over her closest rival going into the clean and jerk segment where she lifted 109 kg for a total weight of 197 kg to clinch the gold and it was also a new Commonwealth Games record. Then she went on to make a statement when she lifted 113 kg in clean and jerk to swell the weight to an incredible 201 kg.
2. Jeremy Lalrinnunga
Weightlifting continued to be dominated by the Indians as Jeremy Lalrinnunga claimed the second gold medal in the men’s 67kg category, which pushed India to the top six in the medal table on July 31. Lalrinnunga lifted a total of 160kg in the clean and jerk to finish with a grand total of 300kg, which is also a new CWG record. The 19-year-old from Aizawl snatched a games record 140kg as twice he grimaced in pain during the clean and jerk attempts. However Jeremy recovered and opened up a huge 10kg gap with the nearest rival Edidiong Joseph Umoafia when he lifted 140kg in a successful second attempt.
3. Anchita Sheuli
Weightlifter Anchita Sheuli continued India’s medal spree at Commonwealth Games 2022 as he clinched India’s third gold medal in CWG 2022. He made a record in the Commonwealth Games by lifting a total of 313 kg as the man from Deulpur near Howrah, West Bengal snatched 143kg and clean and jerked 170kg in the 73 kg category at NEC Hall, Birmingham in the UK.
4. Bindyarani Devi
Weightlifter Bindyarani Devi went on to win a silver in the women’s 55 kg as India continued its medal rush at the Commonwealth Games 2022 especially in Weightlifting. The 23 year old from Imphal snatched 86kgs and clean jerked 116kgs which gave her a total of 202kgs. She finished behind Nigeria’s Adijiat Adenike Olarinoye who won the gold with a total lift of 203kgs (92+111)
5. Gururaja Poojary
Gururaja Poojary won the first medal for India at the Commonwealth Games 2022 as he won a bronze medal in the Men’s 61 kg weight category at Birmingham 2022 on July 30, 2022. He lifted a combined (snatch / clean & jerk) with a total lift of 266 kg. But it was Aznil Muhammad who successfully defended his Commonwealth Games gold with a lift of 280 kg.
6. Sanket Mahadev Sargar
Indian weightlifter Sanket Mahadev Sargar is credited for opening India’s medal count in weightlifting at the Commonwealth Games 2022 by claiming a silver in the men’s 55kg category. Sanket started the 55 kg snatch with a highest lift of 113 kg that gave him a big advantage going into the clean and jerk event. He began the clean and jerk with a massive lift of 135 kg that gave him the lead of 248 kg after the first round itself but Sanket suffered an elbow injury which hampered his final two attempts to lift 138 kg and 139 kg ended up in failure. The Malaysian lifter Aniq Mohamad lifted a higher weight in his final attempt that powered his total weight to 249 kg, which was just a kg more than the Indian.
7. Judoka Shushila
Indian Judokas also made the nation proud as L. Shushila Devi signed off with a silver medal in Judo in Women's 48 kg at the Commonwealth Games 2022 yesterday. The 27-years old Shushila gave a tough fight before losing the final via 'Waza Ari' in the 4.25-minute final against South Africa's Michaela Whitebooi.
8. Vijay Kumar Yadav
The 26-years old Vijay Kumar Yadav produced a performance of his career and grabbed a bronze medal in Men's 60-kg class at the ongoing CWG 2022. He pounced on the mistake of his opponent and pinned him down for 10 seconds which ultimately ended the contest in just 58 seconds.
9. Harjinder Kaur
India's Harjinder Kaur won the bronze medal in the women's 71 kg weightlifting competition after a very drama-filled day for India at the Commonwealth Games 2022. She lifted a total weight of 212kgs as she snatched 93kgs and clean & jerk 119kgs. This was India’s seventh medal in weightlifting as Indian fans would be hoping for more medals in this particular sport.
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