The Indian weightlifters’ success at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games has raised hopes of a medal in the forthcoming Asian Games.
The lifters bagged 12 medals, including three golds (Sanjita Chanu, women’s 48kg, Sukhen Dey, 56kg and Sathish Sivalingam, 77kg).
According to the coaches, the improvement of four medals thanthe Delhi Games was due to the induction of new talents and proper planning.
Women’s team coach Hansa Sharma thanked the Indian Weightlifting Federation for its long-term planning. “Some talented youngsters were identified and groomed, and there was continuity in the camp. The training camp at Shilaroo and the three-week-long stint in Birmingham helped the lifters hit top form.
“For the first time, our lifters did not have a problem acclimatising to the colder conditions,” said Hansa after the team’s arrival on Sunday. “Besides, the food supplement was doubled in the last two months,” she added.
Men’s team coach Vijay Sharma said the lifters nearly achieved their target. “The stint in Birmingham was really helpful. We achieved 90 per cent success. Sathish’s performance was extraordinary. However, he narrowly missed out on a CWG record in clean and jerk.”
Vijay hoped that Sathish and Delhi Games 69kg gold medal winner K. Ravi Kumar, a 77kg silver medallist in Glasgow, would improve for the Asian Games where India does not have a great track record.
“Sathish is young, technically perfect and has the capability. If he improves upon his clean and jerk performance, he will get into the medal bracket. Ravi is in a new weight and has been training for only four months. He will also do better. Sukhen should give a decent performance,” said Vijay.
According to Hansa, it would be satisfactory if the women lifters manage to recover in time and maintain their showing in the Asian Games.
