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Gyaneshwari Yadav battles to silver, bronze for Bindyarani Devi
Gyaneshwari Yadav won silver in weightlifting at the Glasgow CWG, lifting 199kg, while Bindyarani Devi secured bronze in the women’s 58kg category.
New Delhi: Weightlifter Gyaneshwari Yadav produced a power-packed performance to clinch a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Monday. Inspired by her idol Mirabai Chanu completing a hat-trick of gold medals in CWG a day earlier, the 23-year-old won her maiden medal in the women’s 53kg weight division.
Gyaneshwari went toe-to-toe with Nigeria’s Onome Omolola Didih in the battle for gold before eventually settling for silver. The Indian lifted a total of 199kg (88kg in snatch and 111kg in clean and jerk), while Didih claimed the gold with a stunning total of 206kg (93kg + 113kg). Both weightlifters improved on the Commonwealth Games records with the Nigerian eventually putting herself on top.
Seasoned Bindyarani Devi later added a bronze in the women’s 58kg weight category. She lifted 87kg in snatch and 112kg in clean and jerk for a total lift of 199kg.
After Mirabai’s gold, India’s Raja Muthupandi won silver in the men’s 65kg late on Sunday. The 26-year-old from Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu cleared one attempt each in snatch and clean and jerk (126+160=286), which was good for second. Malaysia’s Aznil Bin Bidin Muhamad (133+166=299) set three Games records while claiming gold with ease. Morea Baru of Papua New Guinea took bronze (125+157=282).
On Monday, the highlight was Gyaneshwari’s feisty show against Nigerian Omolola Didih who was on a record breaking spree.
Gyaneshwari began with an 82kg lift in her first snatch attempt before gradually increasing the weight in her next two attempts, successfully lifting 85kg and 88kg. Didih opened with 85kg before adding 5kg in her second attempt and then lifting 93kg in her third, setting a new Commonwealth and Commonwealth Games records.
Trailing Didih by just 5kg after the snatch, Gyaneshwari kept herself firmly in contention in the clean and jerk. She opened with 103kg before adding 4kg to the barbell for her second attempt, successfully lifting 107kg to set a new Commonwealth Games record.
Didih, however, was not to be outdone. After opening with a successful lift of 105kg, she raised the bar to 110kg to reclaim the record. Gyaneshwari then lifted 111kg in her final attempt, putting the pressure back on the Nigerian. Didih held her nerve, clearing 113kg with her final lift to seal the gold medal and the record.
Gyaneshwari, however, would be pleased with her effort as she recorded personal bests in both the snatch and clean and jerk.
“I wanted to give my personal best here, and I am happy that I have been able to do that in such a tough competition,” Gyaneshwari told PTI in Glasgow.
Hailing from Rajnandgaon district in Chhattisgarh, Gyaneshwari has long idolised Mirabai, who completed a hat-trick of Commonwealth Games gold medals on Sunday. The daughter of a bodybuilder, Gyaneshwari fell in love with weightlifting at a young age.
In 2022, she won a silver medal in the 49kg category at the World Junior Championships with a total lift of 156kg. The performance brought her into the limelight as she made a name for herself in the same weight category as her idol, Mirabai.
“My father used to do bodybuilding, but due to our poor financial condition, he had to give it up. We moved from the village to the city,” Gyaneshwari said.
“I used to do powerlifting, but when I saw how the weights progressed in weightlifting, I became very interested. So I told my father I wanted to take up weightlifting, and he was very supportive,” she added.
At the 2024 Senior World Championships, Gyaneshwari stepped into Mirabai’s shoes in her absence, representing India in the 49kg category. She finished a creditable fifth with a total lift of 182kg. She has steadily progressed, displaying remarkable composure while learning from Mirabai at the national camp. With Mirabai competing in the 49kg category here, Gyaneshwari moved up to 53kg and delivered a memorable performance. She had tested herself in the new weight category at the Asian Championships in Gandhinagar earlier this year, where she won bronze with a total lift of 194kg.
Bindyarani wins bronze
Bindyarani’s weakness in snatch left her shaky for a while before a sensible weight call in clean and jerk helped her take bronze in the women’s 58kg weightlifting competition. The 27-year-old was conservative in snatch, and her clearing 83, 85 and 87 left her in fourth position at the halfway mark.
Nigeria’s Rafiatu Folashade Lawal was a force unto herself, powering to the gold medal with a snatch of 103 and a brilliant final clean and jerk of 126. Canada’s Ann Sophie Taschereau was too strong for Bindyarani. After a snatch effort of 94—which left her second but 9kg behind the Nigerian lifter – Taschereau lifted 111, 115 and 121 to ease into the second spot. By then the Indian had a clear picture as she only had to do better than England’s Eliza Pratt (87+109), whose second attempt in clean and jerk pushed her to fourth.
Bindyarani had initially called for 113kg in clean and jerk, but smartly lowered the weight to 110kg, which she failed to clear. However, she returned determined and her second attempt of 112kg sealed the medal.
With 87kg in snatch and 112 in clean and jerk, she totalled only 199. A failed final try of 116kg meant she could not cross 200kg in total. The Nigerian was a class apart as she lifted 126kg in clean and jerk, 5kg better than Taschereau, yelling and jumping in triumph to celebrate the win.
