CWG 2022: Achinta Sheuli wins gold in men's 73kg weightlifting

Achinta Sheuli lived up to his billing as the favourite for the men's 73kg title as he lifted a total of 313kg [Snatch - 143kg + Clean & Jerk 170 kg] to win gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Muhammad Erry Hidayat of Malaysia earned silver, while Shad Darsigny of Canada claimed bronze.

This was India's third gold of the Games after Jeremy Lalrinnunga's triumph in the men's 67kg and Mirabai Chanu's victory in the women's 49kg division. All of India's six medals at the Games have come from the weightlifting contingent so far - silver medals for Sanket Sargar [55kg], Bindyarani Devi [55kg] and a bronze for P. Gururaja [61kg].

It was of little surprise that Achinta began the snatch competition with the highest weight among the 12 competitors - 137kgs. It was almost too easy, he was in and out in less than 30 seconds.

Achinta, a gold-medallist at the 2019 Commonwealth Senior and Junior Championships, then lifted 140kgs to create a new Games record. But he was far from done. Looking to set yet another Games record, he hoisted 143kgs in his final attempt, equalled his personal best, to firmly claim the Games record and open up a five kg lead over second-placed Muhammad Erry Hidayat of Malaysia.

Hidayat lifted 165 kg in the clean and jerk to go top, but Achinta comfortably beat that with a lift of 166kgs to go clear by six kgs. The see-saw battle between the Indian and the Malaysian continued as Achinta failed a 170kg lift in the second attempt. Hidayat had two lifts left, and was to attempt 172kg in his second lift.

Since Achinta chose to attempt 170kg again in his final lift, he had two minutes to recover before returning to the platform. A clean lift is all Achinta needed to ensure himself of the gold medal and he did just that with a clinical 170kg lift to carve out a 10kg lead. His total of 313kgs was another Games record. Hidayat, though, had a trick up his sleeve. He decided to attempt 176kgs in his final two lifts, but it was not to be as he simply couldn't hoist the bar over his shoulders.

India at CWG 2022 Day 3: As it happened

The 20-year-old, who followed in his brother Alok's footsteps and took to weightlifting at the age of 10, came into the Games on the back of a very successful 2021: he broke six national records, including three in the senior group, when he won silver in the men's 73kg category at the Junior World Championships in Tashkent last year. He would return to Tashkent seven months later to win gold at the Commonwealth Senior Championship.

Speaking after the event, Achinta said "I tried to break my national record (in C&J) but that didn't happen. Otherwise I'm very happy. I was not trying for gold, rather I was fighting for my best performance. I want more and I believe I will get it."

He went on to dedicate the medal to his brother saying, "My brother had to leave the sport to support me. He always encouraged me."