India’s weightlifting contingent added another Commonwealth Games medal on Sunday as Bindyarani Devi won bronze in the women’s 58kg final.It was India’s fifth weightlifting medal at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Earlier, Mirabai Chanu (women’s 48kg – gold), Rishikanta Singh (men’s 60kg – silver), Muthupandi Raja (men’s 65kg – silver), and Gyaneshwari Yadav (women’s 53kg – silver) also finished on the podium in their respective categories.Weightlifting includes two disciplines – the snatch and the clean and jerk – with each lifter getting three attempts in both.In the snatch, athletes lift the barbell up from the ground in one continuous motion with a wide grip. In the clean and jerk, first they raise the bar to their shoulders (clean), pause, and then drive it over (jerk), holding still until the buzzer.Bindyarani lifted 87 kg in the snatch to finish third. Nigeria’s Rafiatu Folashade led the field with 103kg, while Canada’s Ann Sophie was second with 83kg.In the clean and jerk, Bindyarani reached 112 kg. However, Rafiatu managed 122 kg to keep his lead and secure the gold medal, leaving the Indian with the bronze.Bindyarani totaled 199kg (87kg snatch + 112g clean and jerk) but Nigeria’s Rafiatu Folashade stole the show with a stunning 225kg (103kg + 122kg), rewriting Commonwealth and Commonwealth Games records to take gold.Canada’s Ann Sophie won the silver medal with 215 kg (94 + 121)It is the fourth weightlifting medal for India at the CWG and the sixth medal overall.
