CWG 2022: Lovepreet provides 109kg bronze to India’s weightlifting tally

As a toddler, Lovepreet Singh would typically spend time watching his father Kirpal Singh sew garments in his store outdoors their two-room village house. Her would additionally hearken to tales of national-level weightlifter Heera Singh, who additionally hailed from their village Bal Sikandar.

On Tuesday afternoon, the 24-year-old did his village proud when he received the Commonwealth Games bronze medal within the 109kg class. He lifted a complete of 355 kg with a nationwide document of 163 kg in snatch and 192 kg in clear and jerk. Cameroon’s Junior Periclex received the gold with a complete raise of 361 kg whereas Jack Opeloge of Samoa received the silver with a complete raise of 358 kg.

A 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲ly begin to Day 6️⃣🤩

Winning a 🥉 medal in Men’s 109 KG class in Weightlifting, Lovepreet Singh luggage the 14th Medal for 🇮🇳 in #CWG2022 🫡#BirminghamMeinJitegaHindustanHamara 🫶#B2022 #SonySportsNetwork #SirfSonyPeDikhega pic.twitter.com/610jZA9gle

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) August 3, 2022

“Jad chhota bachcha si tan bapu ji kapde stitch karan ch busy rehende si te gal karan da time nahi si. Aaj medal jeetya hai te bapu ji da phone busy a raheya hai (When I was a kid, I would wait to talk with my father amid his busy schedule at the tailoring shop and today, I am waiting to talk with him but his phone is busy). To win my first Commonwealth Games medal here is my gift to all the hard work done by my family,” Singh mentioned from Birmingham.

Singh, who began weightlifting on the age of 13, would initially practise weightlifting with the village youth on the Government faculty within the village earlier than shifting his coaching to DAV School, Amritsar. The teenager would grow to be a junior nationwide and youth nationwide medallist in 2016 earlier than successful a bronze on the Asian Youth Championships. He would subsequently grow to be the Junior Commonwealth Champion within the 105 kg class. Last yr, Singh received the silver medal with a complete raise of 332 kg within the Senior Nationals at Patiala earlier than a bronze with a complete raise of 348 kg within the Commonwealth Championships in Tashkent.

Bhangra at house following Lovepreet’s Bronze medal win on the #CommonwealthGames!

📹: Rana Simranjit Singhhttps://t.co/vwflkGbtWP pic.twitter.com/VIxLAfmkH9

— Express Sports (@IExpressSports) August 3, 2022

During the lockdown in 2020, Singh spent the longest time at his village since turning into a petty officer within the Indian Navy. “When Lovepreet showed his desire to become a weightlifter, I did not hesitate for a second to allow him. Even though I used to earn Rs 10,000 to 15,000 per month, I always tried to provide the best for Lovepreet. He would cycle to his Amritsar school and would then go to his training. Most of my customers came today to congratulate me and we made sure that all had sweets today,” mentioned Kirpal.

On Wednesday, when Australian Jackson George didn’t raise a clear and jerk weight of 211 kg to surpass Singh’s complete, the Indian celebrated. “While I made a new national record in snatch, I like clean and jerk the most. Coach Vijay Sharma sir patted me and I see it as my reward,” mentioned Singh.