Lifter Gururaja claims silver, opens India's medal account

Weightlifter Gururaja bagged the first medal for India at the 21st edition of the Commonwealth Games 2018 with silver in the men`s 56-kilogram category here on Thursday. Gururaja had a best attempt of 111 kg in the snatch and 138 kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 249 kg. Izhar Ahmed of Malaysia won gold with a new Commonwealth Games record of 261 kg.  Izhar, who had emerged champion at the Commonwealth Championships last year, bettered the previous Games record by one kilogram.
He also set a new Games record in the snatch with a successful lift of 117 kg in his second attempt. He bettered the previous record of 116 kg set by his compatriot Ibrahim at the New Delhi Games in 2010.
He cleared 144 kg in the clean and jerk which his personal best. Chaturanga Lakmal of Sri Lanka claimed bronze with a total of 248 kg. He managed 114 kg in the snatch and 134 kg in clean and jerk.
Manueli Tulo of Fiji showed a lot of heart and loads of fighting spirit to take the fourth position with a total of 239 kilograms.
The Fijian kept the top three lifters on their toes for much of the event and was in contention for the bronze before falling considerably off the pace with two failed attempts in the clean and jerk. Gururaja started on a promising note, taking the lead with his very first attempt in the snatch with a successful attempt of 107 kilograms. Tulo produced a lift of 108 kg in his second attempt. But his attempt was ruled out by the jury due to a technical fault. Lakmal claimed the top spot immediately after with a successful lift of 110 kg in his first attempt.