Praful Kumar Dubey of Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) strained every sinew in winning the men’s 105kg weightlifting gold here on Wednesday.
Dubey dazzled from the start by smashing the Games snatch record with a 146kg lift. V. Prabhakar of Andhra Pradesh improved it to 147 on his final attempt.
His joy at finding his way into the record books was short-lived as he missed a place on the podium after miserably failing in clean and jerk.
Dubey sealed the top position with a 180 lift and a tally of 326 on only his second attempt. He was not a happy man though.
The SSCB star went for the Games record (187) on his final attempt. He tried a 188 and stretched full and cleared it as well. Dubey was convinced with his effort and so was his team. But the referees called it a ‘no lift’.
Dubey was disappointed and his team wanted the decision to be reversed by the jury but they declined. The referees were clear that he had not brought the bar down according to the rules.
Nogender’s new mark The other snatch record that fell by the wayside was in the men’s 94kg class, thanks to Nogender Singh. The Madhya Pradesh youngster posted a 151kg lift but could not deliver much in clean and jerk and had to settle for the bronze. Jameer Hussain of Assam and Veerender Singh of SSCB wrested the gold and silver respectively.
A Commonwealth championship silver medallist, Jameer had graduated to the senior category only a couple of years ago. The 21-year-old lived up to the expectations of his team with a final tally of 326 of which 146kg came in snatch.
O. Geeta Devi added one more gold to Manipur’s kitty by clinching the top spot in the women’s 69kg category. It was an exceptional performance by the 2012 Commonwealth gold medallist considering the fact that she had moved to the senior class only about two years ago.
The results:
Men: 94kg: 1. Jameer Hussain (Asm) 326 (146, 180); 2. Veerender Singh (SSCB) 321 (146, 175); 3. Nogender Singh (MP) 319 (151 (Games record), 168).
105kg: 1. Praful Kumar Dubey (SSCB) 326 (146, 180); 2. V.A. Christopher (Mah) 314 (136, 178); 3. Rashpal Singh (Pun) 311 (134, 177). Games record: Snatch: V. Prabhakar 147.
Women: 69kg: 1. O. Geeta Devi (Man) 211 (93. 118); 2. Lalchhanhimi (Miz) 191 (83, 108); 3. G. Aruna Rani (AP) 190 (85, 105).
