Lovepreet Singh made headlines on Wednesday when he lifted 355kg (163kg in snatch and 192kg in clean & jerk) to claim the bronze medal in the men’s 109kg weightlifting event at the Commonwealth Games 2022. The success helped the 24-year-old to become India’s 14th medal winner at the mega-event, and also the ninth weightlifter to win a medal for the country at the CWG 2022.

However, it was not only just the colour of the medal that was the focus for the fans. Lovepreet was in contention for the other medals as well, however, finished at the third position. Despite that, it was his clean & jerk lift that caught everyone’s attention.

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Lovepreet Singh began the clean & jerk category with a lift of 185kg in the first attempt, which he lifted with relative ease. He then decided to make a gradual increase of four kilograms and lifted 189kg in his second attempt. By doing so, the Indian Navy ace broke the existing national record of 188kg, which was set up by himself previously. Lovepreet also bettered his record in the third attempt, where a herculean effort ensured that he lifted 192kg, setting up a new national record in weightlifting.

The Indian weightlifter was in contention to make it to the gold or silver finishes, however, it was Cameroonian Junior Periclex Ngadja Nyabeyeu and Samoan Jack Hitila Opeloge, who finished at the top two spots respectively. However, his bronze medal finish meant that he became India’s 14th overall medal winner at the Commonwealth Games 2022, with the second bronze medallist in weightlifting after Gururaja Poojary, who won it in July 30 in the ongoing edition.

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The Indian weightlifting contingent has performed beyond expectations in the Commonwealth Games 2022, winning nine out of India’s 14 medals already. It was Sanket Sargar who began the tally with his silver medal on July 30, followed by Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, Gururaja Poojary, Bindyarani Devi, Jeremy Lalrinnunga, Achinta Sheuli, Vikas Thakur, Harjinder Kaur and Lovepreet Singh in the subsequent days.