Sheuli steals the show\, bags maiden National crown in 73kg

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Sheuli steals the show, bags maiden National crown in 73kg

Delighted: Papul Changmai of Assam kissing the weights with joy after winning the men’s 81kg gold.

Delighted: Papul Changmai of Assam kissing the weights with joy after winning the men’s 81kg gold.   | Photo Credit: C.V.Subrahmanyam

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Bags maiden National crown in 73kg

Teenage lifter Achinta Sheuli excelled in a strong field of men’s 73kg to bag his maiden National title in convincing fashion at the Railway Indoor Sports Enclave here on Monday.

Eighteen-year-old Sheuli, a Khelo India gold medallist last year, lifted a total of 300kg in the National weightlifting championships to underline the promise he holds for the future.

Experienced lifters Akshay Gaikwad and M. Rajan’s aggregates of 297kg and 292kg fetched them silver and bronze medals respectively.

Sheuli began with a ‘no lift’ for 132kg before doing 135kg in his final snatch attempt.

The confident West Bengal boy lifted 161kg in his opening clean and jerk effort and improved it by four kg to assure himself of the gold medal in the second. He could not do 168kg in his concluding try.

“My performance has improved a lot after joining the National camp about a year ago. However, I could not achieve my target of 139kg in snatch because of my first failed attempt,” said Sheuli.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist in 69kg Deepak Lather took the fourth place with 291kg.

Punam Yadav’s total of 220kg, which was two kg short of her gold medal winning performance in the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, got her the women’s 81kg crown.

Punam, who was “let off” by the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) following a written apology for reportedly leaving the National camp without permission last year, had a decisive lead when she registered 99kg in her final snatch attempt. Her closest competitor Seema did 97kg.

In clean and jerk, Punam recorded a ‘no lift’ for 121kg in her second try before lifting the same weight successfully in the third.

The results: Men: 73kg: 1. Achinta Sheuli snatch 135kg, clean and jerk 165kg, total 300kg; 2. Akshay Gaikwad 133kg, 164kg, 297kg; 3. M. Rajan (TN) 127kg, 165kg, 292kg.

81kg: 1. Papul Changmai (Asm) 140kg, 180kg, 320kg; 2. Sambo Lapung (SSCB) 145kg, 171kg, 316kg; 3. Amarjit Guru (Pun) 142kg, 171kg, 313kg.

Women: 81kg: 1. Punam Yadav (RSPB) 99kg, 121kg, 220kg; 2. 97kg, 121kg, 218kg; 3. Manpreet Kaur (Pun) 96kg, 119kg, 215kg.

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