Indian weightlifter Sanket Sargar won the nation its first medal, clinching silver for weightlifting at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in the 55kg category. 

The 21-year-old from Sangli, Maharashtra, lifted a total of 248kg in total but lost to Malaysian lifter Mohamad Aniq bin Kasdan, who lifted 249kg to win gold. In third place was Dilanka Isuru Kumara Yodage from Sri Lanka, who lifted 225kg. 

Sargar, in the Snatch round, started with a 107kg lift, following it up with 111kg and 113kg lifts. The Snatch category is the first of two lifts in the sport, where participants must try to lift the barbell from the ground, over their head, in a continuous motion. 

There are four main types of snatch, but the full snatch is most commonly used in competitions, with very few trying a split snatch, while muscle and power snatches are usually seen during training. In the 55kg category, to which Sargar belongs, the record is held by World Standard, who lifted 135kg. 

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Sargar’s result at the end of the third round was the best of his three lifts, and thus 113kg. 

Then, he moved on to the Clean and Jerk category. Here, the Indian weightlifter managed to lift 135kg in the first attempt, but picked up an injury trying to lift 139kg in the second go, rendering him unable to take a third attempt as well. 

The clean-and-jerk is a two-component lift, where the participant lifts the barbell and receives it in a front squat. Then, the barbell is raised as the lifter jumps it up overhead, which is the jerk part of the category. 

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Although Sargar started the snatch category lifting almost 5kg more than his competitors, he injured his elbow during the second, but still managed to win silver despite missing out on two attempts – opening up India’s medal count at the CWG in Birmingham.