Commonwealth Games: P Gururaja bags first medal for India
Weightlifter P Gururaja won a silver in men's 56kg category to give India their first medal at the 21st Commonwealth Games being held in Australia. Gururaja equalled his personal best of 249kg (111+138) to finish second behind Malaysia's Muhammad Izhar Ahmed. Ahmed, a three-time CWG medallist, broke the Games record for snatch and overall lift. Sri Lanka's Lakmal Chaturanga (114+134) took the bronze medal.
Gururaja comes out strong in the third attempt
The 25-year-old failed to lift weight of 138kg in his first two attempts, but sealed the silver in the third attempt. The weightlifter claimed that despite his efforts not being his best, he is happy that it helped him secure a medal and open the account for India. He also added that his family was on his mind after missing the first two attempts.
Who is P Gururaja?
The athlete is a low-ranking Indian air force employee. He is a son of a truck driver and wanted to become a wrestler in 2010 after seeing Sushil Kumar. But he became a weightlifter after meeting his coach.
Records galore in 56kg weightlifting
The Games saw a record lift by Malaysia's Ahmed (117+144) who broke the Games record for snatch and overall lift. Ahmed bettered his compatriot Hamizan Amirul Ibrahim's snatch record of 116kg, which was created in 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games edition. He also broke the overall Games record, which too was held by Ibrahim.
