Commonwealth Games 2018: All you need to know about weightlifting, where India has won 4 medals in Gold Coast so far

Weightlifting has been a marquee sport for India at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, this time around. India has already bagged two gold medals in Women's 48 kg and 53 kg categories, one silver medal in Men's 56 kg, a bronze by Deepak Lather in the Men's 69 kg category. Surely there are many more are to come.

However, due to the complex set of rules, weightlifting is often not properly understood by fans. Here, we take the effort to explain the rules of weightlifting, in order to help you better understand the achievements of these athletes.

The Lifts

1. Snatch – A wide grip is used in snatch and this is a single move lift. The weightlifter has to lift the weights in a clean motion using his or her knees, getting down at the same instant to maintain balance. While getting back up, the weight is moved directly over the head in an upright position, which the lifter must maintain, in order to get the decision from the judges.

2. Clean and Jerk – A clean and jerk comprises of two movements and is performed in a close grip. The first movement is to lift the barbell up to the shoulders and in the second movement, it is lifted overhead in an upright position.

The Weights:

A standard bar is used, which is 20kg in weight for men and 15kg for women. Plates of various weights ranging from 25kg to 0.5kg are used to load on to the Barbell.

More important facts:

#1 Every weightlifter has three attempts in snatch and clean & jerk each. The final score is decided by adding the highest successful lifts from the two categories. For example, a weightlifter lifts 80 kg, 85 kg, 90 kg (all successfully) in Snatch and 110 kg, 113 kg, 117 kg (failed attempt) in clean and jerk. His final score will be the summation of 90 kg and 113 kg i.e. 203 kg.

#2 A 10-minute break is given to all the lifters between Snatch and Clean & Jerk. Three judges oversee all the lifts.

#3 If a weightlifter is unsuccessful in lifting the weight then he has two options: To try and lift the same weight in his next attempt or to lift a higher weight.

#4 The competition progresses in an ascending order with the weightlifter attempting the lowest weight going first moving on to the weightlifter attempting the highest weight going last.

#5 If two athletes manage to lift the same weight, then the athlete with the lower bodyweight is declared the winner.

#6 Lastly, weightlifting is not to be confused with powerlifting, where the athletes have three attempts each in squat, bench press, and deadlift.