India won its third Gold medal in the Commonwealth Games on Sunday, July 31 after Achinta Sheuli, 20, lifted a record total weight of 313 kg in the 73kg category.
Achinta poses after winning a medal. (Allowed: Reuters)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Achinta reveals that he was unlucky in the clean and sensational event
- Achinta comes from a humble background
- Achinta dedicates a medal to his brother
Achinta Sheuli, 20, won India’s third Gold medal in the 2022 Commonwealth Games on Sunday, July 31 after lifting a record weight in the men’s 73kg category.
Achinta, who comes from a humble background, came through the tournament clearly ahead of his opponent of the day as he lifted 313kg, 10kg more than the silver medalist from Malaysia.
Day 3 of the Commonwealth Games: As It Happened
Speaking to IndiaToday after the event, the athlete said he was only competing against himself.
“The idea was to give my best performance. My only fight is with the Malaysian athlete and I want to hit my best to improve my own record,” he told India Today exclusively in an interview.
GLD FOR ACHINTA
Radiant confidence, 20-year-old debut #AchintaSheuli give a dominant performance to win the 3rd GOLD for at @ birminghamg22
Set a game record and won with a total lift of 313Kg in the men’s 73kg final at # B2022 # Cheer4India
1/1 pic.twitter.com/EWpW4uVK7t– SAI Media (@Media_SAI) July 31, 2022
Revealing that he had been unlucky on his second attempt in the clean and sensational category, he said he didn’t have much of a clue about anything for a moment.
“I was a bit unlucky on my second clean and loop attempt but I managed on my third try,” he revealed.
When asked if he wanted to change his weight class before the Olympics, Achinta said he wanted to qualify in the 73kg category.
The Indian weightlifting team did a great job and Achinta credits this coach for that.
“Sir Vijay (coach) is working very hard. The days I was training poorly, he helped me improve a lot, everyone in India improved thanks to him. The opponents are not even our equal in the Commonwealth Games,” he concluded.
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