Weightlifters eye medals in Asian Games after clean CWG stint

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, September 16, 2014:  The 12 medals India won in weightlifting at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games were a positive development, but it was much more significant that the perennial spectre of doping seems to have left the beleaguered sport.

Sathish Sivalingam (men’s 77kg), Sukhen Dey (56kg) and Sanjita Khumukcham (women’s 48kg) gladdened hearts by winning gold medals in Scotland, but the Indian Weightlifting Federation is aware that the 10-member squad which left for Incheon on Monday will face a much tougher task at the Asian Games.

"The competition at the Asian Games is much tougher than what we faced at the Commonwealth Games. The mere presence of China makes the task that much more difficult. Host nation Korea, Kazakhstan and Iran will also be tough to beat," IWLF secretary Sahdev Yadav told MAIL TODAY on Monday.

"At most, we can hope for one or two medals. Our major hopes rest on Sathish and Katulu Ravi Kumar. Unfortunately, they both compete in the 77kg category and will be fighting against each other. We are also hopeful that Sanjita will give a good account of herself and with a bit of luck, can even land on the podium."

India has never won a weightlifting gold medal at the Asian Games.

Two back-to-back major events are never easy for the competitors, and Yadav lamented that there was not a longer gap between the Commonwealth Games and the Incheon Asiad.

The weightlifting competition in Glasgow ended in late July, while it will start in Incheon on September 20.

"There was no scope for any rest for the weightlifters after they returned from Glasgow. There was not much time at our disposal. They were immediately back in training in Patiala," Yadav said.

"The international calendar is such that it gives very little time for recovery of athletes after a gruelling event. We may suffer in Incheon due to this as our weightlifters may be down on stamina."

However, these concerns seem small in the midst of the feel-good factor in Indian weightlifting. Gone are the days when the sport was infamous for several doping scandals at major events, and India faced the ignominy of bans on more than one occasion.

"Indian weightlifting has been free of doping for the last five years we have been in charge. We have conducted intensive awareness programmes and informed our athletes about which supplements to take and which to avoid. The cases of doping we hear these days are at the school and university level, over which we have little control," the federation secretary said.

Athletes have tough time

The Indian weightlifters’ campaign at the Asiad has stuttered even before it started. The team which was to leave the Capital on Sunday afternoon, had to endure a wait of almost 21 hours before they could board a flight. "The weightlifters were supposed to take the 12.45 pm Malaysian Airlines flight on Sunday. But we were told that there was a technical fault due to which the flight was cancelled," an official told Mail Today on Monday. "They only managed to board a flight at 9.30 am today." The weightlifters reached Kuala Lumpur on Monday evening and are expected to reach Incheon on Tuesday.

Courtesy: Indiatoday