India miss gold as Vicky Batta settles for silver

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

Melbourne, Mar 16 (UNI) India let go a golden chance to clinch the second gold of the day as 25-year-old Vicky Batta faltered at crucial moments and settled for the silver in the Men's 56kg category of the Weightlifting competition in the Commonwealth Games here today.

It looked as the gold medal was well in grasp of Batta with two lifts to go in clean-and-jerk but the Indian suddenly lost his focus and concentration that resulted in no lifts in his second and third attempts when he was going for 136 kg.

Batta was lifting very confidently and when he cleared 131 kg in his first attempt in clean-and-jerk, the second gold looked imminent for India but it turned out to be the case of so near yet so far.

Batta just could not reproduce his form and failed to lift in his second and third attempts. Interestingly, his personal best has been 250.

The gold was claimed by Malaysia's Mohd Faizal Baharom who lifted 255 kg as against Vicky Batta's total lift of 245.

Bronze went to Malaysia's Matin Guntali who lifted 238 kg and pushed another Indian, Edwin Raju, to fourth place.

The Tamil Nadu lifter finished with 235 kg.

India thus ended the day in Weightlifting competition with two medals -- a gold by Kunjarani Devi and a silver.

A Punjab Police official, Batta did well to match Faizal lift by lift while Edwin Raju was tantalisingly close to Guntali in the snatch event.

The 24-year-old Malaysian failed with first lift of 110 kg in snatch but then lifted 110 and 115 in the second and third attempts.

Batta started promisingly lifting 110 but then failed in his second attempt while going for 114. The Indian, however, did well to lift 114 kg in his third attempt to trail by one kg to Faizal at the end of snatch.

Forty year-old Guntali, the oldest lifter in the competition, on his comeback trail, lifted 102 kg, 105 kg and then ended at 107 kg in snatch while Edwin Raju started with lifting 101 kg but then failed with 105 in his second effort even though he managed 105 in his third attempt.

In clean-and-jerk, disaster awaited the Indians as Batta after 131 kg lift, muffed up next two while Raju failed with his effort to lift 136 kg in his last attempt.

Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) secretary Balbir Singh Bhatia, who is here in his capacity as a jury member of the competition, was full of praise for the Malaysian, saying, ''He is a very good lifter and deserved to win.'' About Batta and Raju, he said, ''I don't know why they were in such a hurry. At those crucial moments, they needed to concentrate but they looked out of focus. Look at the 40-year-old Guntali, who has come back from retirment and won bronze.'' Final reslt: Mohd Faizal Baharom 255 (115+140), Vicky Batta 245 (114+131), Matin Guntali 238 (107+131) and Edwin Raju 235 (105+130).

UNI HSB AY PDS PM1649

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