Haider finishes fifth in weightlifting contest at CWG

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan’s talented weightlifter Haider Ali finished fifth in the 81 kilogramme competitions of the Commonwealth Games men’s weightlifting event here at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) during which he hurt his elbow which affected his clean and jerk performance.

“I hurt my elbow muscles when weight fell behind me in an attempt in snatch. Now there is swelling in my arm and I feel immense pain,” Haider told ‘The News’ after his event. “I kept spraying my arm which helped me complete my clean and jerk session -- it was extremely difficult. I will show it to doctor now. I was going for gold but it was hard luck and I am disappointed. Three years back, too, my arm muscles got torn when weights fell behind me,” Haider said.

'The News' learnt through team sources that for the first attempt in the clean and jerk a 170kg had been registered initially but it was changed by the coach to 161kg as he wanted Haider to complete the event. Haider was seen feeling pain in his left arm during the entire clean and jerk session.

He lifted a total weight of 305kg to end at the fifth spot. Haider started the snatch session by lifting 135kg. He failed to lift the 140kg weight in his next two attempts. Haider started his clean and jerk session with a 161kg lift. He then failed to lift the 169kg in his second attempt and was able to lift the 170kg in his third and final attempt to finish with a total of 305kg.

Pakistan has fielded three weightlifters in the event. Nooh Dastgir Butt, a 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, and Hanzala Dastgir Butt will compete on Wednesday (tomorrow) in 109 plus and 109kg competitions, respectively, at the same venue.

Nooh is expected to win a medal in the event. “Yes, he is a top contender for a medal,” a senior official of Pakistan Weightlifting Federation (PWLF) told ‘The News’. It was a hotly-contested show and the suspense remained until the final lift from Canada’s Nicolas Vachon. The actual fight was between England’s Chris Murray, Australia’s Kyle Bruce and Nicolas of Canada with Murray eventually claiming gold with a total of 325kg -- a Commonwealth Games record.

After Murray finished with 325kg total, Kyle Bruce opted to lift 183kg in an attempt to win gold but he failed to do so. Initially it was announced that he had done the job but the lift was challenged. A review revealed that he had not been successful, so he had to be content with silver with 323kg.

Canada’s Nicolas Vachon could not lift the 187kg weight which he had opted for his final and decisive attempt. Nicolas finished with a bronze with 320kg.

Cameron’s Ngongan Tchvissi was disqualified after all his three clean and jerk attempts remained unsuccessful. His best lift remained 139kg in snatch.

The gold medallist Murray, who attracted a huge applause from the local crowd, started late and was impressive with 131kg, 141kg and 144kg snatch efforts. He then went on to lift 174kg, 178kg and 181kg in clean and jerk.

Kyle Bruce also looked very confident. He lifted 143kg in his first attempt in snatch. His next two attempts of lifting 147 remained unsuccessful. He then managed 175kg and 180kg in his first two attempts in clean and jerk which helped him finish with a silver. He failed to lift 183kg in his final attempt which was challenged.

Canada’s Nicolas Vachon lifted 136kg in his first attempt in snatch, then mis-lifted 140kg and lifted it in his third attempt to finish with 140kg in snatch. In clean and jerk, he lifted 175kg and 180kg before failing to lift 187kg which if successful could have earned him a gold medal.