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Commonwealth Games 2022: India's Ajay Singh misses medal by a whisker, finishes 4th in men's 81kg weightlifting
Commonwealth Games 2022: Ajay Singh lifted a total of 319 kg (143kg in snatch + 176kg in clean and jerk) to finish fourth in the men's 81kg final on Monday.
India's Ajay Singh produced a fantastic performance but felt agnoshingly short of a medal in the closely-fought men's 81kg weightlifting final. Ajay, who slipped out of medal position in the final attempt of the clean and jerk round, would have taken India's weightlifting medal haul to seven in Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham had he been successful. All of India's medals in the Games have come from weightlifting so far. Mirabai Chanu (gold), Achint Sheuli (gold), Jeremy Lalrinnunga (gold), Sanket Sargar (silver), Bindyarani Devi (silver), and Gururaja Poojary (bronze) are the Indian weightlifters who have finished on the podium in CWG 2022 so far. Ajay lifted a total of 319 kg (143kg in snatch + 176kg in clean and jerk) to finish fourth in the final on Monday.
England's Chris Murray broke the Games Record to take the gold medal with a total of 325kg (144+181), Australia's Kyle Bruce, the pre-tournament gold favourie, got silver with a total lift of 323kg (143+180) and Canada's Nicholas Vachon snatched the bronze medal from India with a total of 320kg.
The 25-year-old Ajay, who also holds the national record in his weight category, started a bit shakily. He almost faltered in his first attempt of 137kg in the snatch round but somehow regained composure to get the judges' approval of a clean lift. The former Commonwealth Senior Championship gold medalist got better in his second and third attempts with gradually improving lifts of 141kg and 143kg that put him in the third position along with strong medal contender Australia's Kyle Bruce at the end of the snatch round. England's Chris Murray led the pack with a 144kg snatch lift.
In his first attempt in the clean and jerk round, the Indian successfully lifted 172 kg. But he remained in the third position (based on total best lifts) after England's Murray and Australia's Bruce successfully lifted 174kg and 175kg respectively in their first attempts in this round.
The lanky Indian gave it his all in his second attempt of the clean and jerk round by lifting 176kg. Murray, however, got another three kg advantage over the Indian with a lift of 178kg in his second attempt. Australia's Bruce took the competition to another level by lifting 180kg in his second clean and jerk attempt to reclaim the top spot and push the Indian back in bronze position.
Canada's Nicholas Vachon, however, turned the competition on its head with a successful lift of 180kg in his second clean and jerk attempt pushing Ajay out of medal position.
The Rajasthan athlete did his best to lift 180kg in his final attempt to get back in medal position but couldn't pull it off.
Murray pulled off a 181kg lift to pip Bruce, whose last lift was deemed as a foul.
Ajay had first started as a sprinter and shifted to weightlifting only after his uncle had introduced him to the sport in the Army Sports Institute in Pune in 2010.
