WEIGHTLIFTER Gyaneshwari Yadav continued India’s medal rush, clinching a silver as records were broken left, right and centre in a riveting women’s 53kg competition at the Commonwealth Games. The 23-year-old from Bhondiya village in Chhattisgarh totalled 199kg (88kg snatch + 111kg clean and jerk) but Nigeria’s Onome Omolola Didih stole the show with a stunning 206kg (93kg + 113kg), rewriting both the Commonwealth and Commonwealth Games records to take the gold. The numbers only told half the story. What unfolded on the weightlifting platform was an absorbing duel between two young lifters refusing to blink. Almost every successful attempt forced officials to scramble for a new Games record as Gyaneshwari and Didih traded blows in a contest that kept the packed arena on its feet. Gyaneshwari was elegance personified in the snatch.

 

All three of her lifts were clean, composed and almost effortless, the bar travelling overhead in one smooth motion as she stayed firmly in touch with the Nigerian. The clean and jerk, however, turned into a spectacular game of one-upmanship. The Indian ignited the contest by lifting 107kg, setting a new Commonwealth Games record. The applause had barely subsided before Didih marched onto the platform and erased it with 110kg. Gyaneshwari refused to surrender. Egged on by Indian supporters, she dug deep to hoist 111kg, reclaiming the Games record. The lead, though, lasted barely a minute. Didih coolly called for 113kg, completed the lift and once again and sent the record books into revision, sealing the gold in the process. It is the fourth weightlifting medal for India at the CWG and fifth medal overall.