Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships: Purnima Pandey bags gold, Gurdeep wins bronze on final day
India concluded the Commonwealth meet with 16 medals, including four golds. Bindyarani Devi was India’s only medallist at the world championships.
Indian weightlifter Purnima Pandey won the gold medal in the +87kg women’s category at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2021 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Friday.
The 22-year-old Purnima Pandey became the first Indian woman from this edition to qualify directly for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Sri Lanka’s JB Haputhanna with a combined lift of 187kg (81+106), finished second. There was no bronze medal as only two weightlifters from the Commonwealth nations were competing in this category.
Purnima Pandey, who was competing in Group B, lifted a total of 229kg (102+127) on Thursday to initially stand second in the World Weightlifting Championships, held concurrently in Tashkent.
However, weightlifters from Group A overhauled the 229kg-mark pushing her down to the 10th position.
South Korea’s Son Young-hee won the gold medal at the world championships with an overall lift of 281kg (122+159).
Later in the day, India’s Gurdeep Singh clinched Commonwealth bronze in the men’s +109kg. He lifted 172kg in snatch and followed it up with a 217kg clean and jerk for a combined effort of 389kg.
New Zealand’s David Liti won the gold medal for a total of 407kg (176+231). He was followed by Pakistan’s Muhammad Nooh Dastgir Butt, who lifted 390kg (165+225).
India ended the Commonwealth championships with 16 medals - four gold, seven silver, and five bronze. The country had sent 19 representatives in different categories to compete this year.
The four Commonwealth gold medallists - Jeremy Lalrinnunga, Achinta Sheuli, Ajay Singh, Purnima Pandey - have qualified directly for the 2022 Games in Birmingham.
Weightlifter S Bindyarani Devi’s gold medal in clean and jerk remained the only success for India at the world championships.
Medals won by Indian weightlifters
World Weightlifting Championships 2021
S Bindyarani Devi (55kg) - Gold (clean and jerk)
Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2021
Gold medallists
Women - Purnima Pandey (+87kg)
Men - Jeremy Lalrinnunga (67kg), Achinta Sheuli (73kg), Ajay Singh (81kg)
Silver medallists
Women - Jhili Dalabehera (49kg), S Bindyarani Devi (55kg), Hazarika Popy (59kg), Harjinder Kaur (71kg), Punam Yadav (76kg)
Men - Guru Raja (61kg), Lovepreet Singh (109kg)
Bronze medallists
Women - Lalchhanhimi (71kg), R Arockiya Alish (76kg), Anuradha Pavunraj (87kg)
Men - Vikas Thakur (96kg), Gurdeep Singh (+109kg)