C P R Sudhir Kumar won a bronze for India in the 69 kg men weightlifting championship at the Afro-Asian Games being held at the Kotla Vijyabhaskara Reddy indoor stadium at Hyderabad on Sunday.
China's Chen Chufu cleared 140 kg and 175 kg in snatch and, clean and jerk to put a combined effort of 315 kg to claim the gold.
Thailand's Suphalak Sitthisak aggregated 292.5 kg (130 kg, 162.5 kg) to lift the silver, while Sudhir was relegated to the third spot with a tally of 290 kg (135 kg and 155 kg).
Twenty four year old Sudhir Kumar, who is nursing an injured elbow, got a thunderous applause from the home crowd when he opted to open with 127.5 kg and raised the weight by five kg to get a clean chit in the snatch event. The crowd cheered him more when he successfully lifted 135 kgs.
Sitthisak had a flawless lift of 125 kg in the first round and improved it to 130 kg in the second but failed in the in the third round effort to lift 132.5 kg to finish second.
The SAI trained Sudhir, who is with Indian Navy and lives in Banagalore disappointed the crowd in the clean and jerk event as he failed in his second and third attempts to clear 160 kg after lifting 155 kg in the first round.
While he could not hold the weights in the second round, he failed to lift them in the third attempt.
"I had an elbow injury and it aggravated now. I was expecting a silver but could not make it though I had put in good practice," Sudhir said.
Chen Chufu opened his account with the highest tally of 165 kg with a fluent lift and went ambitious by seeking a revision of weights by ten kgs. The entire auditorium went for a big applause when successfully held 175 kg.
Going with the tide, he asked for 180 kg but could not hold it and dropped the bar backwards and bowed slowly for the response.
Results - 69 kg men: 1-Chen Chufu (China) 315 kg (140, 175), 2-Sitthisak Suphalak (Thai) 292.5 kg (130, 162.5), 3-CPR Sudhir Kumar (Ind) 290 kg (135, 155).
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