19-year-old Jeremy Lalrinnunga had a dream-come-true moment in Birmingham on Sunday, July 31 as he won a Gold medal in the men's 67kg weightlifting at the Commonwealth Games 2022. In his first appearance in the Games, Jeremy set a new Commonwealth Games record of 300kg overall (140kg snatch and 160kg in clean and jerk).
It was the second Gold medal for India at CWG 2022 after Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Mirabai Chanu defended her Commonwealth Games crown in the women's 49kg weightlifting on Saturday.
Jeremy was standing tall with a salute to the Indian flag as the national anthem was played in Birmingham. He was a proud young man on the top step of the podium after having put behind a period of tough times in the last year due to injuries and health issues.
Jeremy was 10kg ahead of the chasing pack after the record lift of 140kg in snatch. However, he picked up an injury scare in clean and jerk after his first lift of 154kg. He lifted 160kg in his second attempt but fell on the podium, showcasing pain.
However, Jeremy had done enough with his 160kg lift to win gold ahead of Samoa's Vaipava Nevo (293kg - 127 snatch, 166 clean and jerk (GR)) and Nigeria's Edidiong Joseph 290kg (130kg snatch and 160kg clean and jerk).
Jeremy, who won the Commonwealth Championships gold in December last year, was not able to achieve his personal best (141kg snatch, 167kg clean and jerk) but the 19-year-old will only improve from here after having tasted success at the highest level.
Jeremy, who won the Youth Olympics gold medal in 2018, was disheartened after missing out on qualifying for Tokyo Olympics last year as he had picked up a knee injury during the Asian qualifying event wherein he finished a disappointing 8th.However, the setback only motivated Jeremy to work harder. With a photo of the Birmingham gold medal as his phone wallpaper, Jeremy set out to achieve his target. And on Sunday, Jeremy realised his dreams, making India proud.Jeremy overcame what looked like cramps after setting a new snatch Games record with the 140kg lift. He went for 154kg in his first attempt in the clean and jerk and fell on his knees on the podium, wincing in pain. However, he came out for the 2nd lift and completed the successful lift of 160kg, which was still 7kg less than his personal best.
Jeremy went for 165kg in his 3rd attempt but suffered a nasty elbow injury as he fell flat on the podium, wincing in more pain. It was a relief when Jeremy walked out for the medal ceremony without any slit in his hand as he looked relatively comfortable, waving his hands, acknowledging the applause from the crowd.