Commonwealth Games 2022: India’s Sudhir wins para powerlifting gold medal with meet record
Sudhir won the gold in the men’s heavyweight category. It was India’s first-ever para-powerlifting gold medal at the CWG.
Indian para-athlete Sudhir won the gold medal in the men’s heavyweight para powerlifting event at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham on Thursday.
The 28-year-old Sudhir’s top podium finish at Birmingham 2022 was India’s maiden gold medal in the sport of para powerlifting at the CWG.
Weighing at 87.30kgs, Sudhir lifted 208kg with his first attempt and bettered it to 212kg with his second. His third attempt at 217kg, however, was unsuccessful.
"I absolutely thought I would win gold," Sudhir said. "My preparation was very good and I thank Birmingham for this. Preparation was good, the weather was good, the crowd was great – fantastic.
"Next for me is a celebration: I'm going to London to enjoy some shopping and see the city."
Sudhir’s second lift of 212kg earned him a total of 134.5 points, a new Games record, and the gold medal at the National Exhibition Centre.
In para powerlifting, a formula is used to calculate points, based on the athlete’s best lift, bodyweight, age, gender and other factors.
Ikechukwu Christian of Nigeria won the silver medal with 133.6 points, while Scotland’s Micky Yule bagged the bronze, scoring 130.9 points.
A six-time national champion and Asian bronze medallist, Sudhir contracted polio at the age of four and Thursday’s win at the NEC was one of the several international laurels the powerlifter from Sonipat, Haryana has won for India.
Meanwhile, in women’s lightweight powerlifting, India’s Manpreet Kaur (89.6 points) and Sakina Khatun (86.5 points) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Parmjeet Kumar failed to log a valid attempt in the men’s lightweight finals.