National weightlifting c’ships: Pardeep Singh wins 102kg gold

The Railways lifter betters his snatch record with a performance of 151kg; Vikas Thakur wins the 96kg crown.

Pardeep Singh improved his snatch record by one kg.

Pardeep Singh bettered his snatch record with a performance of 151kg and went on to win the men’s 102kg gold medal in the National weightlifting championships at the Khudiram Anusilan Kendra here on Thursday.

Pardeep, who had done 150kg and 201kg in snatch and clean and jerk, respectively, for a total of 351kg in the Asian championships in Ningbo, China, last year, improved his own snatch record by one kg. He began clean and jerk with 185kg and lifted 195kg in his second attempt. With an aim to upgrade his clean and jerk and total records, the Railways lifter, who had settled for a bronze medal with 321kg in the previous Nationals, entered 203kg in his concluding effort but could not achieve the target.

Another prominent lifter, Vikas Thakur, totaled 346kg, including 154kg in snatch and 192kg in clean and jerk. It was three kg less than he had lifted at the Asian championships last year but he won the 96kg crown comfortably. The Services lifter had done 152kg and 197kg in the two segments to finish a distant fourth in the continental event.

‘Peaking nicely’

“Both Pardeep and Vikas are peaking nicely for the Asian championships in Kazakhstan in April. They are at about 90 per cent of their ability and we expect some good results from them this time,” said National coach Vijay Sharma.

Vikas Thakur totalled 346kg to win gold in the 96kg category. - PTI

Sharsti Singh rode on her superior snatch showing to aggregate 205kg for the women’s 81kg title. The 10kg snatch lead proved decisive for Sharsti as she did an identical 112kg with second-placed Baljinder Kaur.

• 96kg: 1. Vikas Thakur (SSCB) snatch 154kg, clean and jerk 192kg, total 346kg; 2. Jagdish Vishwakarma (Cht) 147kg, 180kg, 327kg; 3. Suresh Yadav (Odi) 140kg, 170kg, 310kg.
• 102kg: 1. Pardeep Singh (RSPB) 151kg [NR, Old 150kg, Pardeep], 195kg, 346kg; 2. Shubham (SSCB) 145kg, 180kg, 325kg; 3. Ashutosh Kumar Singh (Utk) 140kg, 176kg, 316kg.

• 76kg: Deepika Handa (Chd) 92kg, 119kg, 211kg; 2. R.Arockiya Alish (TN) 89kg, 118kg, 207kg; 3. A.Tumina Devi (Mani) 83kg, 104kg, 187kg.
• 81kg: 1. Sharsti Singh (RSPB) 93kg, 112kg, 205kg; 2. Baljinder Kaur (Chd) 83kg, 112kg, 195kg; 3. T.Dharshini (TN) 85kg, 109kg, 194kg.
• 87kg: 1. P.Anuradha (RSPB) 97kg, 122kg, 219kg; 2. Madhusmita Baruah (Asm) 87kg, 113kg, 200kg; 3. Anu (Pun) 86kg, 110kg, 196kg.
• +87kg: 1. Monika (RSPB) 95kg, 115kg, 210kg [NR, Old 208kg, Ashwini Malage]; 2. Ashwini Malage (Mah) 89kg, 119kg [NR, Old , 117kg, Jasbir Kaur], 208kg; 3. Jasbir Kaur (Pun) 89kg, 117kg, 206kg.