CWG 2018 | India win fifth gold in weightlifting as Punam Yadav tops Women’s 69 kg

Punam won the fifth gold medal for India in Gold Coast in Women’s 69 kg category on Sunday. With four of her compatriots having already achieved the feat in the last three days, the pressure was immense on the 22-year-old. However, the 2014 CWG bronze medalist was cool as a cucumber when she lifted 95 kg with relative ease.

Her first attempt was enough to convince everyone that she would earn a medal, but the biggest challenge on her way was Fiji’s Apolonia Vaivai. Both the lifters finished the snatch event with a lift of 100 kg leading the rest of the lifters by a mile. However, in the clean and jerk event, England’s Sarah Davies did brilliantly to successfully attempt a whopping 119 kg, and reduce the deficit heavily.

Punam had to aim higher and her 5 kg lead over the English counterpart helped her in targeting a comfortable weight (118 kg). And to her luck, Vaivai failed to lift 115 kg in her first attempt, which demanded a huge spike in her next aim if she were to win a gold medal. Davies lifted 122 kg next to bring in a late twist in the game, but Punam kept her calm to seal it in the end.

Despite failing to pick up 122 kg in her second attempt, Punam pulled it off in her third. With Vaivai failing to lift 122 kg in her last attempt, the gold was hinging on Davies’ ability to target a whopping 122 kg. However, in the end, it proved to be too much for the English. Punam ended the category with a total of 222 kg, followed by Davies (217), and Vaivai (216).