In-form Indian weightlifting contingent looks to bury doping ghosts at Glasgow CWG

K Ravi Kumar at the 2010 Commonwealth Games

At the 2010 edition of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India was placed third in the medal tally in the weightlifting category, with a total of 8 medals (2 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze). Although this performance seemed pretty decent, the recent doping scandal has shocked the country and tarnished India’s name in the weightlifting world.

That might well prove to be an instigator for this year’s contingent, as they will seek redemption at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow.

K Ravi Kumar leads the Indian contingent

The Indian contingent will be led by Delhi gold medalist K Ravi Kumar and Sangita Chanu, who have been training in Birmingham for the last one month to get acclimatized to weather conditions in Glasgow.

K Ravi Kumar was the gold medalist in the men’s 69kg at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, where he made history by breaking the Commonwealth Games record after lifting a record total weight of 321 kg (146 kg in snatch and 175 kg in clean and jerk).

The selector Pal Singh Sandhu was quoted as saying, "We have quite a few lifters who are capable of finishing on the podium. While Ravi Kumar, who has moved to 77kg from 69kg, is a seasoned campaigner, upcoming women lifters like Meena Kumari and Matsa Santoshi have proved their class at the junior level."

There are other contenders too

Ravi Kumar will face a strong challenge from compatriot S. Satish Kumar, who will himself be a tough contender in the new weight category.

Meanwhile, the silver medalist at the 2010 Games in the men’s 56kg category Sukhen Dey is another strong contender in the Indian team who will also be competing against his fellow teammate Dinesh Malli in the same weight category. Vikas Thapar, who will lift the bar in the 84kg category, has also been in good form and will have medal aspirations.

On the other hand, the women’s team will feature Sangita Chanu, who will look to lift India's hopes in the 48kg category. Matsa Santoshi and Meena Kumari in the 53 and 58kg class respectively are among the other top athletes representing India.

The Indian weightlifting team at Glasgow, 2014

Men: Sukhen Dey (56kg), Ganesh Mali (56kg), Rustam Sarang (62kg), Omkar Otari (69kg), S Sathish Kumar (77kg), K Ravi Kumar (77kg), Vikas Thakur (85kg), Chandrakant Mali (94kg).

Women: Sanjita Chanu (48kg), S Mirabai Chanu (48kg), Matsa Santoshi (53kg), Swati Singh (53kg), Meena Kumari (58kg), Punam Yadav (63kg), Vandna Gupta (63kg).

In the 2010 edition of the games, India was placed third behind, Nigeria and Samoa, and this time too at Glasgow they will face a tough challenge from not only Nigeria and Samoa, but also from countries like England, Australia, Malaysia, and Canada. There is much to proved, as the Indian team aims to obtain as many podium finishes as possible, which would in turn contribute to the overall medal tally.