Sathish, Rahuladd gold, triumph over adversity
Male lifters win 77kg and 85kg to add to double success by women
GOLD COAST: A few months back, Sathish Kumar Shivalingam was worried about his prospects at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games later this year. The weightlifter from Vellore, Tamil Nadu, had hurt his quads while lifting 184kg, his best effort ever, at the National Championships in Karnataka.
“The injury was serious and I had to undergo rigorous rehabilitation. As a result, I could not prepare properly for Gold Coast and am actually not fully fit even now,” said Sathish.
However, he steeled himself for tough competition and, despite not having the support of a physiotherapist inside the Games Village and warm-up hall, Sathish bagged India’s third gold in weightlifting here on Saturday with a commanding performance in men’s 77kg.
RAHUL ADDS TO TALLY
Later in the evening, Ragala Venkat Rahul, who lost his mother two years ago and is yet to come to terms with the loss, survived a tough competition from Samoa’s Don Opelonge to earn India its fourth gold in the 85kg category. Rahul failed to lift 191kg in clean and jerk after successfully lifting 187kg to add to the 151kg he had heaved in snatch.
With Opelonge still having two lifts after being successful at 181, the Indian was wary of the Samoan and went for 191 and nearly succeeded. Opelonge made a last-ditch effort at 191kg, which would have got him to an aggregate weight of 342, four kg higher than the India. However, the Samoan did not have a clean heave, thus giving Rahul the gold medal.
Sathish Kumar had finishing second in snatch after lifting a kg less than England’s
Jack Oliver but overcame the deficit by heaving 173kg, six kg more than the Englishman for a total of 317kg.
Though confident after the snatch, Sathish had to spend anxious moments as Oliver made an attempt at 175kg to overtake the India.
“Had he lifted that I would have had to go for 176kg and I was worried how that would have impacted my injury. But he failed,” said Sathish after the medal ceremony. Oliver had to be satisfied with silver while Francios Eutoundi of Australia, despite struggling with an injured shoulder, took bronze with a lift of 305kg.
Sathish said he felt the absence of a physio inside the warm-up area more because of his injury. “There is not much support there though the coaches were trying their best but that is not the same as a physio. I felt my legs loosen a bit, the back was loose because taping was not correct but I managed to overcome all that,” said Sathish who dedicated his medal to his coaches and parents.
Sathish said he will be going into rehabilitation for the next few months before preparing for the Asian Games in Jakarta in August. “Usually, there is not much time between the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. But this time there is, so I plan to use the period for proper rehabilitation. Of course, the aim is to win a medal at the Olympics in 2020 (Tokyo),” he said.
The two gold lifted India to fourth position in the medals tally.