PM Modi, Virender Sehwag and others laud Sanket Sargar as he wins silver medal despite injury at CWG 2022

Weightlifter Sanket Sargar opened India's medal account at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 on Saturday (July 30) by clinching a silver medal in the men's 55kg category. Sargar finished second behind Malaysia's Bin Kasdan Mohammad Aniq in the final and missed out on the elusive gold medal by just 1 kg. It was a thrilling finish to the final as Sargar didn't deter from his last attempt despite an injury.

The 21-year-old Indian looked on course to win a gold medal, but an injury during his second attempt in the clean and jerk round saw him finish second. Nonetheless, Sargar managed to clinch India's first medal at the Games this year and earned praise from all corners.

Social media was flooded with wishes for the weightlifter with the likes of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra and former cricketer Virender Sehwag, among others, congratulating him on his medal.

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"Exceptional effort by Sanket Sargar! His bagging the prestigious Silver is a great start for India at the Commonwealth Games. Congratulations to him and best wishes for all future endeavours," PM Modi wrote in a tweet.

"Well done #SanketSargar for winning India it's first medal at the Commonwealth Games, brilliant effort.Proud of your Silver," wrote Sehwag in a tweet.

Talking about the final, Sargar made a solid start and lifted 107 kg cleanly in his first attempt in the snatch round before successfully lifting 111 kg in his second attempt. He attained a healthy lead of 6 kg against Aniq by lifting 113 kg in his final third snatch attempt to head to the clean and jerk event with some advantage.

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In the clean and jerk round, Sargar lifted 135 kg in his first attempt before injuring his shoulder during his second attempt. However, he attempted to lift 139 kg once again in his third attempt despite his injury but failed to do so. He lifted a total of 248 kg (113 + 135) overall to finish behind Aniq, who lifted an impressive 142 kg in his final clean and jerk attempt to take gold with an overall lift of 249 kg.