Glasgow: Weightlifter Harjinder Kaur and long-distance star Gulveer Singh emerged as India’s standout performers, pushing themselves to the limit to clinch hard-fought silver medals, while three Indian boxers punched their way into the semifinals to guarantee the country more podium finishes at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Harjinder, standing just 5ft 3in, produced the performance of her career to claim silver in the women’s 69kg category Tuesday. The 29-year-old rewrote the Commonwealth Games record twice each in both the snatch and clean and jerk, upgrading the bronze she had won in the 71kg category at Birmingham four years ago and delivering India’s seventh weightlifting medal of the Games.
India are currently placed ninth in the medal standings with two gold, seven silver and three bronze medals, taking their overall tally to 12.
Australia continued to dominate the table, sitting comfortably at the top with 33 gold, 17 silver and 27 bronze medals for a commanding total of 77 medals.
The diminutive Harjinder lifted like a champion, but even her extraordinary effort was eclipsed by Canada’s Charlotte Simoneau, who produced a breathtaking display to dominate the competition.
Harjinder first broke the Games record in the snatch with a 99kg lift before improving it to 101kg with a confident final attempt. She then continued her record-breaking spree in the clean and jerk, successfully lifting 123kg before raising the bar to 126kg for a total of 227kg.
Simoneau, however, proved untouchable, smashing the Games records in every segment with lifts of 108kg in the snatch and 132kg in the clean and jerk for a combined total of 240kg, finishing a commanding 13kg ahead of the Indian to take the gold.
Minutes later, Asian Games bronze medallist Gulveer Singh scripted history by clinching a sensational silver medal in the men’s 10,000m, becoming the first Indian ever to finish on the podium in the event at the CWG.
Battling relentless rain and a waterlogged track, Gulveer displayed remarkable grit and tactical awareness, staying with the leading pack throughout before producing a blistering surge in the closing laps to put himself in medal contention.
The Indian distance runner clocked 27:49.78 to finish just 0.85 seconds behind Australia’s Ky Robinson, who struck gold in 27:48.93. Gulveer’s outstanding run also saw him finish ahead of sone renowned names.
National record holder Vishal TK kept India’s medal hopes alive in the men’s 400m by advancing to the semifinals with a composed qualifying run.
The 22-year-old from Tamil Nadu, who became the first Indian to break the 45-second barrier with his national record of 44.98 seconds in May this year, finished second in Round 1 Heat 6, clocking 46.49 seconds to progress comfortably.
Vishal’s timing was the 14th fastest among the 16 semifinalists, leaving him with work to do in the next round but keeping India’s hopes of a podium finish alive in one of the Games’ most competitive sprint events. The semifinals will be held on July 30.
In the boxing ring, reigning Asian champion Priya Ghanghas stunned the partisan home crowd with a gutsy come-from-behind victory over local favourite Niamh Mitchell, while Asian Games bronze medallist Preeti Pawar and Jadumani Singh produced commanding displays to storm into the semifinals, assuring India of at least three bronze medals.
Preeti (54kg) was at her clinical best, completely outboxing Northern Ireland’s Nicole Clyde in a one-sided contest to register a unanimous 5-0 victory. Priya (60kg), meanwhile, recovered superbly after conceding the opening round to outfight Mitchell and seal a hard-earned 4-1 win in a gripping quarterfinal that silenced the home supporters.
Jadumani also advanced in impressive fashion, dominating Zambia’s Mwengo Mwale en route to a unanimous-decision victory in the men’s 55kg quarterfinal.
However, it was the end of the road for Parveen Hooda, who bowed out after a closely fought 2-3 defeat to England’s Sacha Hickey in the quarterfinals. Ditto for Kapil Pokhariya in the men’s 90 kg event.
PTI
