The Indian weightlifting contingent made headlines in the first week of the Commonwealth Games 2022, when as many as 10 athletes won medals at the mega-event. India’s first medal at the event came with Sanket Sargar, who won a silver medal in men’s 55kg category on July 30, whereas the country’s first gold medal was secured by Saikhom Mirabai Chanu on the same day.

The weightlifting contingent’s heroics is set to be recognised by the Indian authorities, who will be felicitating the 10 medal winners on Saturday, August 6, when they return from Birmingham.

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Apart from Sanket Sargar and Mirabai Chanu, eight more Indian weightlifters finished on the podium at the Commonwealth Games 2022. Gururaja Poojary (bronze), Bindyarani Devi (silver), Jeremy Lalrinnunga (gold), Achinta Sheuli (gold), Vikas Thakur (silver), Lovepreet Singh (bronze), Harjinder Kaur (bronze) and Gurdeep Singh (bronze) are the other Indian weightlifters who bagged medals at the event.

Weightlifting has been one of India’s most trustworthy disciplines on the international stage. With the 10 medals in the 2022 edition of the CWG, weightlifting has equalled shooting’s record of winning 135 medals at the quadrennial games, becoming the joint-most winners of laurels at the event.

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The Indian weightlifting contingent won nine medals at the 2018 edition of the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, including five gold medals. However, they have broken the record from the previous edition, winning 10 medals in Birmingham 2022. However, they have won fewer gold medals in this edition than the one in 2018.

The National Institute of Sports (NIS), Patiala is where the Indian weightlifters trained ahead of the Commonwealth Games 2022. The institute is run by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), which have also witnessed more medals by other sporting disciplines at the CWG 2022, along with the ongoing World Athletics U20 Championships.