Day 2 of Commonwealth Games ends without glitches with weightlifters winning 2 silvers, 2 bronzes.
Could it be that the worst is over for the Commonwealth Games?
The afterglow of a hitch-free opening ceremony is showing in Delhi. The new-found confidence is almost palpable — even the beleaguered Suresh Kalmadi is hitting back at critics. And to give the devil his due, he has reason to be satisfied.
India fared well on Day Two, too, both on and off field. Carrying forward from the spectacular opening night, there were no visible or audible glitches — no one was complaining about security and hygiene. Not even about long wait for buses. In fact, the sceptics were singing paeans about India and New Delhi. The only glitch, it seemed, were the empty stands. But officials dismissed that concern as a Monday, and first day, syndrome.
On the field, the day inevitably belonged to the Australians who
ruled the pool, walking away with four gold medals. But away from the waters, India was not far behind the sporting superpower.
There was no gold yet but there was enough success to bring cheer to the Indians, even to attract a few more people to the stands.
The weightlifters did the country proud by clinching two silver and two bronze medals. Sukhen Dey needed to successfully lift 146kg in his final attempt to create an upset and dethrone Malaysia’s defending champion Amirul Hamizan Ibrahim in the men’s 56kg category. It was not be, yet he was a brave loser. The youngster from Army Sports Institute settled for silver.
VS Rao won the bronze, again, giving both Dey and Ibrahim a run for their money. “I knew it was always going to be tough. Ibrahim is a tough guy to compete against. But I am happy with my performance today,” Dey said. But even as the men surpassed the expectations, woman lifter Sonia Chanu was upset by Nigeria’s Augustina Nkem Nwaokolo for the gold medal.
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