Sathish Kumar bags gold medal in 77 kg weightlifting

Gold Coast: Sathish Kumar Sivalingam won the third gold medal for India in weightlifting as he lifted 317 kg in total in men’s 77 kg weightlifting here at ongoing 21st Commonwealth Games on Saturday.

"I had no hopes of winning a medal after I injured my thighs during the National Championships while attempting 194kg in clean and jerk. It's a quadriceps problem, even now I am competing at less than ideal fitness but I am glad that was enough to get me a gold," Sathish said.

"I was in so much pain that even sitting was very painful for me. Everyone took care of me, gave me hope but I was not very confident. I had not trained that hard and my body was not at its best, and so how could I hope for a medal," added Satish.

The 25-year-old Sathish eventually ended up lifting 144 kg in the third and final Snatch, but trailed England’s Jack Oliver by one kilogram after the latter failed to lift 148 kg in his third Snatch.

Australia’s Francois Etoundi bagged the bronze medal with a total of 305 kg after Canada’s Nicolas Vachon failed to lift 175 kg in his third attempt and Kiribati’s Taretiita Tabaroua registered a no lift in Clean and Jerk at 176kg. (UNI)