Glasgow: Indian powerlifters Rajinder Rahelu and Sakina Khatun were in good form on the penultimate day of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, winning a silver and a bronze medal in their respective events here on Saturday.
Rahelu, whose legs were affected with polio, won silver in the men’s heavyweight category at the Clyde Auditorium. Rahelu picked up a total of 180.5kg to get the silver, while Nigerian Abdul Aziz Ebrahim clinched the gold with a lift of 197kg. Malaysian Jong Yee Khie got the bronze with a lift of 178kg.
Sakina won the bronze in the women’s lightweight (up to 61kg) category, which was the first medal of the day. Sakina lifted a total weight of 88.2kg to finish third.
Esther Oyema (136kg) of Nigeria took home the gold, while England’s Natalie Blake took home the silver with a 100.2kg lift.
But there was disappointment from para powerlifter Farman Basha, who failed to finish in the men’s light weight group B. Farman’s first lift of 145kg was declared ‘no lift’ while his second attempt of 147kg was a ‘good lift’, after which he pulled out.
