Sathish Sivalingam he wasn’t even sure he’d be able to lift the 144kg he ultimately managed. (Source: PTI)
Sathish Sivalingam could feel a twitch in his quadriceps when he squatted as he balanced the barbell weighing 144kg over his shoulders. He knit his eyebrows and yelped but did just enough to ensure that after enduring all the pain, his lift did not go waste. It wasn’t his best effort. Then again, he wasn’t in the best shape either.
At the Commonwealth Championship recently, Sivalingam had lifted 148kg in the snatch event. On Saturday, his body won’t permit him to lift that much. In fact, he wasn’t even sure he’d be able to lift the 144kg he ultimately managed. “I hadn’t lifted that weight for the last three months,” he said. “I had an injury which made it tough for me to lift normal weights as well.”
So he stayed conservative. And for once, not taking undue risks paid rewards. Sivalingam would lift a total of 173 in the clean and jerk segment for a total of 317kg to win the gold medal in the 77kg category. It also made him the first Indian male weightlifter to win gold medals in two different editions of the Commonwealth Games. But it very nearly did not happen.
Since the time they’ve landed in Gold Coast, the lifters have been stressing on the need to have a physio by their side. Due to the nature of their sport, injuries are common. Take for instance the case of Francois Etoundi. The Australian, Sivalingam’s key challenger for the gold medal, was in contention to finish on top of the podium until he aggravated a muscle tear on his right arm. Lifting 169kg, he collapsed on the platform, clutching his biceps until the officials rushed to his rescue. Etoundi had a physio by side, who strapped his shoulder and ensured it didn’t worsen.
India have been dreading such a scenario all week. On Saturday, their worst fears almost came true. While Sivalingam was nursing a quadriceps injury, the day’s second gold medalist, Rahul Venkat Ragala, has been facing severe knee problems. Since the team’s physio has not been allowed inside the competition area, any injury would’ve left them without any support.
Consequently, both had to adopt conservative strategies to avoid putting additional pressure on their bodies. Luckily for them, it did not affect their medal chances although Sivalingam was doubtful of his chances.
“I sustained the quadriceps injury during the nationals in Mangalore. It was a very sudden injury and I did not get time to recover from it properly,” Sivalingam said.
“I was in so much pain that even sitting was very painful for me. Everyone took care of me, gave me hope but I was not very confident. I had not trained that hard and my body was not at its best, and so how could I hope for a medal.”
In case of an injury, only a physio is allowed to treat the weightlifter. Even strapping and massages, the key essentials before a lifter steps on the platform, are done by the physio, making him the most important member of the support staff along with the coach. However, due to the weightlifting federation and Indian Olympic Association’s goof-up, the Indian team physio Aakrant Saxena did not get the necessary accreditation to be with the team.
Saxena was with the team in Melbourne for their training camp and even flew to the Gold Coast. However, he was refused entry to the Athletes Village and competition venues. In his absence, the weightlifters, India’s only source of medal at the CWG so far, were forced to treat each other’s pains. “I am disappointed that our physio wasn’t allowed. Thankfully, none of us faced any serious issue,” Sivalingam said.
The 25-year-old from Vellore wasn’t the only one complaining. Every one of India’s medal winners have criticized the decision to not have a physio as a part of the team’s support staff. While the lifters and the federation have pinned the blame on IOA, the Olympic body has pointed fingers at the weightlifting federation, saying they did not submit the names in time. “The weightlifting federation applied for the physio’s accreditation on March 26 while the deadline to submit all the names to organizing committee was March 24,” the IOA said in a statement. Curiously, the contingent’s chef de mission had said he did not receive any request from the weightlifting federation to add names.
Sivalingam, though, hopes the issue won’t arise again during the Asian Games. “It would have been nice to have him around this time. Hopefully, they can solve this problem for the Asian Games,” he said.