BIRMINGHAM: Indian weightlifter Punam Yadav’s outing at the Women’s 76 kg final ended with a heartbreak as her failure in the Clean and Jerk lift meant that she was out of the competition despite finishing at second position at the end of Snatch lift event.
Yadav’s best lift of 98 kg came in the Snatch category and she finished at number 2 at the end of it. But she failed to lift 116 kg in all her three attempts in the Clean and Jerk category and was thrown out of the medal contention because of this disappointing show.
Canada’s Maya Laylor took home the gold medal with a combined lift of 228 kg, a new CWG record in this category. She had the best lift of 100 kg in the Snatch and a lift of 128 kg in the C&J. Taiwo Liadi of Nigeria finished as the silver medalist with a combined lift of 216 kg, a Junior Commonwealth Record. She had the best lift of 96 kg in Snatch attempt and a 120 kg lift in C&J.
The bronze medal went to Maximina Uepa from Nauru. She finished with a combined lift of 215 kg, with best of 96 kg in Snatch and 119 kg in Clean and Jerk.
Punam failed to lift 95 kg in her first Snatch attempt. She successfully lifted the same amount in her second attempt. After this lift, she was in the lead and in a tie with Nigeria’s Taiwo Liadi, who had also lifted 95 kg. At the second position was Maximina Uepa from Nauru with a lift of 94 kg. The third position was occupied by Deborah Alawode of England, who had lifted 93 kg.
Uepa’s final Snatch attempt was her best as she lifted 96 kg, which gave her the lead. Punam lifted 98 kg in her third attempt, but she was outdone by Canada’s Maya Laylor who lifted 100 kg and gained the lead.
At the end of Snatch category lifts, Laylor had the lead with a lift of 100 kg while Punam was at second, just 2 kg below the topper. At third position was a tie between Uepa and Liadi, who had lifted 96 kg each.
With Punam at second position and in contention for a medal, Clean and Jerk proceedings started. She was set to start with 116 in Clean and Jerk.
She failed to lift 116 kg in her first C&J attempt. Punam fumbled on her good finish at the end of the Snatch event by failing to lift 116 kg in her next two C&J attempts. In the final attempt, she did lift 116 kg successfully, but was deemed to have put the barbell down before the buzzer could go off.
Despite Team India’s protests, the decision was upheld and she finished the C&J event without any successful lifts. This pushed her from second in the competition after the end of Snatch event to completely out of it at the end of the C&J event.
At 11 pm, action will be returning to weightlifting, with the final of Women’s 87 kg set to take place. Usha Bannur N K of India will be taking part in this event. (ANI)