Glasgow 25th Jul, 2014: Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu and Saikhom Mirabai Chanu of Manipur bagged a gold and silver, respectively, in women`s 48kg weightlifting in a display of overwhelming domination to open India`s medal account on the opening day of the competition in the 20th Commonwealth Games here on Thursday.
Zee Media Bureau/ Suyash SrivastavaG
Sanjita won with a total lift of 173kg (77+96) while Mirabai grabbed the silver with a cumulative
effort of 170 (75+95) in the absence of other strong competitors.
It was basically a contest between the two Manipuris in an event which India had dominated for long in the Commonwealth Games from the days of Kunjarani Devi.
Kunjarani, now a women`s coach, was beside the two state mates on the platform, egging Sanjita and Mirabai in her vernacular language. India had won a silver and bronze in this category in 2010.
The clean and jerk contest went on almost similar lines with Sanjita and Mirabai taking the bar and the bell after most of their opponents had exhausted their attempts below the 90kg entry weight of the two Indians.
Sensing that they could be in for top two positions, the Indian duo raised their entry weight to over 90kg and put pressure and physical exertion on their opponents who had to continue their attempts in quick succession.
There was a brief moment of tension in the Indian camp after Opara and Mirabai lifted 92kg, and Sanjita failed to clear the same weight. But Sanjita lifted 92kg in her second attempt to give a sigh of relief to the Indian camp.
The contest left to be fought between the two Indians, Mirabai lifted 95kg to put herself in contention, but Sanjita roared back with a 96kg lift to retain the first position.
