There is a gold-winning performance and then there is the Mirabai Chanu way of doing it. In Glasgow on Sunday, the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist lifter made it look like child’s play as she went about completing a hat-trick of Commonwealth Games gold medals. In her very first attempt in the clean and jerk category of the women’s 48kg, Mirabai lifted 105 kg, which was good enough for gold. The 31-year-old battle-hardened Mirabai lifted a total of 190kg, showing that she never faced a threat to the top finish, lifting as she did 22kg more than the silver medallist Ruth Nyong of Nigeria (168kg). The bronze went to Malaysia’s Irene Henry (167kg). Also en route, she lifted 85kg in the snatch to create a new Games record and a new Commonwealth record. “It was a good performance, and it went the way we had planned it. We knew that 105kg would be enough for her in the clean and jerk category so she didn’t take much pressure off lifting more. Our focus is doing well at the Asian Games, so we want to ensure she doesn’t take more load than needed,” Mirabai’s coach Vijay Sharma told TOI. “Although Mirabai made it look very easy, we didn’t take the competition lightly. I am glad that Mira became the only lifter to have won three gold and a silver at the Commonwealth Games,” the coach added. Earlier, another Manipur lifter, Rishikanta Singh, helped India add a silver to its tally. Rishikanta took the second spot in the men’s 60kg competition after lifting 264kg and equalling the Commonwealth record in the snatch category. Rishikanta lifted 121kg in snatch and started the clean and jerk with a successful lift of 143kg in his first attempt. He, however, failed in his bid to lift 148kg and 151kg in the next two attempts, owing to a discomfort in his knee. Rishikanta had entered the clean and jerk category in the lead, along with Malaysia’s Bin Kasdan Mohamad Aniq, who had also lifted 121kg in snatch. The Malaysian went ahead in clean and jerk by lifting 149kg in his first attempt, followed by a successful 152kg lift in the clean and jerk to take his total to a Games record of 273kg. “I came here for gold. After the snatch, I was in the leading position, but my knee created a problem. I was able to clean the weight but could not push because one thigh was not working properly. I tried my best,” Rishikanta told PTI. Kenya’s Joshua Amunga Mboya took bronze with a total lift of 260kg (115kg+145kg). In swimming, the quartet of Dhakshan Shashikumar, Aneesh Sunil Kumar Gowda, Aryan Nehra and Srihari Nataraj clocked 7:39.48 to finish third in their heat and advance to the final of the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay event. The Indians finished behind Australia (7:08.66) and England (7:18.13) in Heat 2. In lawn bowls, Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh lost to Namibia to break their streak of three wins in the women’s pairs event. Rupa and Pinki lost the tie-break 0-3 against the pair of Amanda Steenkamp and Diana Viljoen. In boxing, a dominant show by Preeti fetched her a Referee Stops Contest win in the women’s 54kg Round of 16 bout.
