Chandreshori grabs title

Karnataka lifter pockets 58kg gold; Services Deva Kumar triumphs

Chandreshori lifted 80 kg in snatch and then hoisted 97 kg in clean and jerk for a total of 177 kgs that helped her pocket the yellow metal.

She was however given a stiff challenge by Manipur’s Sunibala Devi. Sunibala and Chandreshori were involved in a cat and mouse game in the clean and jerk as the former came up with a best of 95 kg while the latter edged ahead with a 97 kg lift.

However, in a desperate third attempt to edge out Chandreshori, Sunibala went for 99 kg and failed assuring Karnataka their first gold of the championship. Sunibala finished just one kg behind Chandreshori.

Premeshowri Devi of Jharkhand bagged the bronze with a total lift of 170 kg (77 kg, 93 kg). Chandreshori, who was thrilled with her performance, said she was not very hopeful of bagging the gold coming into the championships.

 “I was not expecting to come first here although I was hopeful of winning a medal for sure,” the National Games bronze medallist added.

Earlier in the day, Yukar Sibi of Arunachal Pradesh created the first national record of this championship, lifting 151 kg in the clean and jerk in the men’s 62 kg class. The existing record of 150 kg was the standard set by the Indian Weightlifting Federation in 1997 as there was no 62 kg category until then.

The 19-yr old Sibi was elated with his feat and said although he broke the record in jerk, he was a touch disappointed at not winning the gold.

“ I was not confident about the record but am happy that I broke it but not winning the gold is a little hard.’’

Deva Kumar of Services won the gold with an effort of 118 kg in snatch and a clean and jerk lift of 141 kg, totalling 259 kg. Sibi missed the coveted first place by just 1 kg.
The bronze medal in the class went to Ramesh Kumar of Himachal Pradesh (247 kg, 108 kg, 139 kg).

Meanwhile, the National Anti-Doping Agency has collected urine samples of 25 lifters so far for testing at the New Delhi laboratory.

Results: Men -- 62 kg: Deva Kumar (Services), 259 kg (Snatch 118 kg, clean and jerk 141 kg) 1; Yukar Sibi (Arunachal), 258 kg (117 kg, 141 kg) 2; Ramesh Kumar (HP), 247 kg (108 kg, 139 kg) 3.

Women -- 58 kg: Chandreshori Devi (Kar), 177 kg (80 kg, 97 kg) 1; Sunibala Devi (Manipur), 176 kg (80 kg, 98 kg) 2; Premeshowri Devi (Jha), 170 kg (77 kg, 93 kg) 3.
63 kg: G Aruna Rani (FCI), 177 kg (78 kg, 99 kg) 1; TH Meimicha Chanu (Manipur), 163 kg (73 kg, 90 kg) 2; U Ranjana Devi (Arunachal), 158 kg (69 kg, 89 kg) 3.