Weightlifter Bindyarani Devi clinched a silver in the women’s 55kg and won India’s fourth medal in weightlifting on Day 2 of the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Bindyarani, who hails from Manipur had won the Commonwealth Championships gold in 2019 before getting a silver in the 2021 edition.
The 23-year-old created a Games record by lifting 116kg in the clean and jerk after a personal best of 86kg in the snatch section, totalling 202 kg. Nigeria’s Adijat Adenike Olarinoye also obliterated the Games record in snatch and total effort with an aggregate of 203kg (92kg+111kg) to win the gold medal. Local favourite England’s Fraer Morrow bagged the bronze with a 198kg effort (89kg+109kg).
Weightlifter Bindyarani Devi bags a🥈at @birminghamcg22 with a career-best performance in the women’s 55kg category🏋️#EkIndiaTeamIndia pic.twitter.com/GhJWhJ6v0B
— Team India (@WeAreTeamIndia) July 30, 2022
“It is my first CWG and I feel very happy about the silver and about the Games record as well,” Bindyarani said.
“I was into taekwondo from 2008 to 2012 after that I shifted to weightlifting. I had a height problem so had to shift. Everyone told my height is ideal for weightlifting. So I changed,” she added.
Vandana scores twice in India’s 3-1 win over Wales
Sensational Vandana Katariya scored twice as India defeated Wales 3-1 to record second successive win in Pool A. India scored all their three goals from penalty corners with Vandana finding the net twice, and Gurjit Kaur once.
An unforgettable night at Birmingham and 3 points in the bag with yet another WIN! 💪
IND 3:1 WAL #IndiaKaGame #HockeyIndia #B2022 #Birmingham2022 @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/RP8FvmmWBT
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) July 30, 2022
India started aggressively, earning themselves a penalty corner in the very first minute of the match. But they missed out on taking an early lead due to weak execution. India continued their attacking instinct and went on to ran riot into the Welsh circle with as many as eight penetrations, creating various goalscoring opportunities. But, they couldn’t find a way to get on board in the first quarter.
India remained patient in their approach and were rewarded for their effort as experienced striker Vandana broke the deadlock in the 26th minute. Vandana successfully deflected Gurjit’s attempt at the Penalty Corner. Gurjit went on to double India’s lead from Penalty Corner in the 28th minute of the match.
Wales got their only chance of the match in the form of a penalty corner 13 seconds from the third quarter and Hughes found the back of the Indian net after getting a deflection of Grace’s foot.
In the 47th minute, India secured their sixth penalty corner but Gurjit’s sweep shot was saved by Thomas.
Srihari finishes 7th
Chasing an elusive medal in the able-bodied Commonwealth Games swimming events, Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj finished seventh in the men’s 100m backstroke.
The 21-year-old was fifth in the 50m split but was pushed further back in the tough first lane to finish with a timing of 54.31s. It was way below his personal best and national record timing of 53.77 that he clocked to seal his Tokyo Olympics quota last year. A repeat of the performance would have landed him a historic gold.
“I have a couple of more events and I’ll make sure this does not happen. I gave it everything, I had nothing left,” Nataraj said, hoping for a better finish in the 50m backstroke.
Nataraj had qualified for the final with a time of 54.55 seconds which was seventh overall
