Lifting: India bags three gold medals

Host India enjoyed a field day on the opening day of the weightlifting competitions of the 12th South Asian Games, picking three of the four gold medals at the Bhogeswari indoor stadium.

India's Guru Raja won the gold medal in the men's 56 kg men's weightlifting event.

Host India enjoyed a field day on the opening day of the weightlifting competitions of the 12th South Asian Games, picking three of the four gold medals at the Bhogeswari indoor stadium here on Saturday.

The home team, which won the men’s 56kg and women’s 48kg and 53kg categories, and was in line for a clean sweep before Gopal Anbarasu, its standard-bearer in the men’s 62kg class, was disqualified for failing to register a lift in clean and jerk.

Mirabai was the one who set the ball rolling, picking up the first gold of the day and also the first-ever as women’s weightlifting was added to the Games schedule for the first time.

The results: Men: 56kg: 1. Guru Raja (Ind), 104+137=241, 2. Jayasooryia Lakmal (SL) 111+128 =239, 3. Abdullah Ghafoor (Pak), 102+125=227. 62kg: 1. Anton Sooriyage (SL), 115+150=265, 2. Bikas Thapa (Nep), 112+130=242, 3. Mostain Bella (Ban), 100+125=225.

Women: 48kg: 1. Mirabai Chanu Saikhom (Ind), 79+90=169, 2. Dinusha Gomas (SL), 65+80=145, 3. Shabira Molla (Ban), 63+80=143. 53kg: 1. Harshdeep Kaur (Ind), 73+98=171, 2. Suriya Chamari Mendia (SL), 65+85=150, 3. Devi Kumari Chaudhary (Nep), 54+75=129.