CWG 2022: Indian weightlifter Vikas Thakur strikes silver in men’s 96kg

Indian heavyweight lifter Vikas Thakur added yet another Commonwealth Games medal to his kitty, winning a silver in the men’s 96kg here on Tuesday.

The seasoned Thakur lifted a total of 346kg (155kg+191kg) to finish second and claim his third CWG medal across three editions.

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It was Thakur’s second silver, having finished second in the 2014 Glasgow edition as well. In Gold Coast, he had returned with a bronze.

Samoa’s Don Opeloge 381kg (171kg+210kg) bettered his 2018 silver by clinching gold with a record breaking performance.

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Fiji’s Taniela Tuisuva Rainibogi walked away with the bronze with a total effort of 343kg (155kg+188kg).

Thakur, a five-time Commonwealth Championships medallist, had three clean lifts of 149kg, 153kg and 155kg to be in joint third-position after the snatch round.

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In the clean and jerk section, Thakur started off with a 187kg lift, which he executed perfectly.

His second attempt was of 191kg , which took some effort but the Punjab lifter was able to pull it off and celebrated it with a ‘thigh-five’ made popular by Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan.

With a silver assured, Thakur went for 198kg, a kilogram more than his personal best, in his third attempt but was unsuccessful.

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But the event belonged to Opeloge, who smashed the Games record in snatch, clean and jerk and total lift.

The 23-year-old Samoan celebrated his stellar show with a groovy dance at the end.

It was heartbreak for home favourite Cyrille Tchatchet who failed to register a single legal lift in clean and jerk.