Commonwealth Games: Lifter Gururaja opens India's medals tally

Gururaja bagged the first medal for India at the 21st edition of the Commonwealth Games with silver in the men's 56 kilogram category here on Thursday.

Gururaja had a best attempt of 111 kg in the snatch and 138 kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 249 kg.

Izhar Ahmed of Malaysia won gold with a new Commonwealth Games record of 261 kg.

Izhar, who had emerged champion at the Commonwealth Championships last year, bettered the previous Games record by one kilogram.

He also set a new Games record in the snatch with a successful lift of 117 kg in his second attempt. He bettered the previous record of 116 kg set by his compatriot Ibrahim at the New Delhi Games in 2010.

He cleared 144 kg in the clean and jerk which his personal best.

Chaturanga Lakmal of Sri Lanka claimed bronze with a total of 248 kg. He managed 114 kg in the snatch and 134 kg in clean and jerk.

Manueli Tulo of Fiji showed a lo of heart and loads of fighting spirit to take the fourth position with a total of 239 kilograms.

The Fijian kept the top three lifters on their toes for much of the event and was in contention for the bronze before falling considerably off the pace with two failed attempts in the clean and jerk.

Gururaja started on a promising note, taking the lead with his very first attempt in the snatch with a successful attempt of 107 kilograms.

Tulo produced a lift of 108 kg in his second attempt. But his attempt was ruled out by the jury due to a technical fault.

Lakmal claimed the top spot immediately after with a successful lift of 110 kg in his first attempt.

Gururaja then failed in his second attempt of 111 kg. But he managed to lift that weight in his third and final attempt to take the lead for the time being.

Izhar however, blew away the competition, starting his campaign with a successful lift of 114 kilograms.

He then broke the existing Games record by clearing 117 kg in his second attempt.

But his attempt to better the Games record further came to nought when he failed to clear 119 kg in his third and final attempt.

Lakmal set the early pace in the clean and jerk stage with an attempt of 131 kg in first attempt.

He failed at 134 kg in his second attempt before clearing the same weight in his third.

Tulo however, overtook the lead with 135 kg in his first attempt, much to the delight of the sizeable crowd present at the arena.

His chances of finishing on the podium took a beating however, as he failed to lift 140 kg in his second attempt.

Desperate to make up on lost ground, he decided on a brave but ultimately futile attempt to match the existing Games record of 145 kg, which saw him crash out of contention for medal.

Izhar was however, in a different league altogether. He cleared 134 kg in his first attempt before sealing the gold with 138 kg in his second.

He then celerated with a personal best of 144 kg in his third attempt.

--IANS

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