CWG 2018: Indian Lifter Gururaja Clinches Silver, Opens Medal Tally For India On Day 1

CWG 2018: A son of a truck driver, Gururaja is a low-ranked Indian Air Force employee who initially wanted to be a wrestler

By: Aakash Biswas |
April 5, 2018 11:08 am

Indian lifter Gururaja Poojary opened the Indian medal tally at the Commonwealth Games 2018 at Gold Coast after he clinched silver in the men’s 56 kg category. He started perfectly and took the lead at his very first attempt in the snatch with a successful lift of 107 kilograms. However, he failed in his second attempt of 111 kg. He still managed to lift that weight in his third and final attempt to take the lead. Despite making a comeback in the competition, he couldn’t reach the top spot as Malaysia’s Izhar Ahmed took the gold.

Ahmed not only clinched the first position but also bettered his previous records and set a new milestone of 61 kilograms. He cleared 144 kg in the clean and jerk which was his personal best. Apart from Ahmed and Gururaja, Sri Lanka’s Chaturanga Lakmal won bronze with a total of 248 kg. He managed to lift 114 kg in the snatch and 134 kg in clean and jerk.

ALSO READ: CWG 2018, Opening Ceremony: PV Sindhu Carries India Flag, Leads Indian Contingent At Gold Coast

Right after the Indian lifter took the first-ever medal for India, social media was flooded with congratulations. People poured in to wish for the milestone he achieved. Here’re some of the reactions:

CONGRATS #Gururaja for winning India’s first medal(Silver) at #GC2018 in men’s 56 kg ctgry #weightlifting 249kg pic.twitter.com/JLzeZj3NZH

— Ishant Sharma (@ImIshant) April 5, 2018

Bravo India’s 1st Medal !#GuruRaja won silver #Medal at the @GC2018 lifting total weight of 249 Kg in the Men’s 56kg event !
Congrats GuruRaja for making India proud #GC2018Weightlifting pic.twitter.com/lsyn0ftBPB

— Maj Surendra Poonia (@MajorPoonia) April 5, 2018

ALSO READ: IPL 2018, Virat Kohli Announces Royal Challengers Bangalore’s 12th Man For The Tournament

Congratulation P #Gururaja for winning India’s first medal at #CWG2018 . You have made the whole nation proud pic.twitter.com/78zvi6CyE1

— Naveen Jindal (@MPNaveenJindal) April 5, 2018

ALSO READ: IPL 2018: Andre Russell Hits U-19 Speedster Kamlesh Nagarkoti For A Six, Scores 50 In Practice Match — Watch

According to several media reports, Gururaja is a low-ranked Indian Air Force employee and is a son of a truck driver. He initially wanted to be a wrestler. Later, he pushed into weightlifting under a watchful coach who saw potential in him.