CWG: Sheuli bags India's third gold, Shushila wins silver, Vijay gets bronze
Coventry: Weightlifter Achinta Sheuli (73kg) lived up to his top billing as he clinched India's third gold in the Commonwealth Games here while judokas L Shushila Devi and Vijay Kumar Yadav signed off with a silver and a bronze medal in women's 48kg and men's 60kg respectively.
Favourite to win the event, debutant Sheuli heaved 313kg (143kg+170kg) to grab the gold at NEC Hall here on Sunday. Malaysia's Erry Hidayat Muhammad, who gave Sheuli a tough competition, ended as the second-best lifter in the event. He had a best effort of 303kg (138kg+165kg).
Canada's Shad Darsigny was third with a total lift of 298kg (135kg+163kg). Sheuli, a junior world championship silver medallist, executed three clean lifts — 137kg, 140kg and 143kg — in the snatch section.
His 143kg effort helped him smash the Games record and improve his personal best.
Meanwhile, the 27-year-old Shushila fought hard before losing the final via 'Waza-Ari' in the 4.25-minute final against South Africa's Michaela Whitebooi, while Yadav dished out a dominating show to take down Petros Christodoulides of Cyprus with a 'Ippon' in the bronze medal match.
For Shushila, it was her second silver medal at the showpiece event. She had finished runners-up at the 2014 Glasgow games as well.
A sub-inspector with Manipur Police, Shushila had progressed to the final, beating Priscilla Morand of Mauritius. she had beaten Harriet Bonface of Malawi on way to her quarterfinals earlier in the day. The 26-year-old Yadav, on the other hand, produced a superlative performance as he pounced on the mistake of his opponent and pinned him down for 10 seconds to end the contest in just 58 seconds.
Ippon is a move in which a contestant throws his opponent to the mat with considerable force and speed so that the opponent lands on his back. An ippon is also awarded when a contestant immobilizes his opponent with a grappling hold-down for 20 seconds, or when an opponent gives up.
Yadav, who has won the Commonwealth Championships in 2018 and 2019, had lost to Joshua Katz of Australia in the quarterfinal, but he produced a superb performance in 60kg repechage to advance to the bronze medal match with a win by 'Waza Ari' over Dylon Munro of Scotland.
