Sathish Kumar Sivalingam
Sathish Kumar Sivalingam won the 77kg weightlifting gold medal in Gold Coast on April 7.Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Satish Sivalingam became the first Indian male weightlifter to win a gold medal in two different edition of Commonwealth Games as he defended his 77kg title in Gold Coast Saturday, April 7.

Weightlifters have had an excellent strike rate in the ongoing 21st edition of Commonwealth Games, winning four medals as Friday.

Sivalingam, an Indian Railways employee from Vellore in Tamil Nadu, helped continue the trend as the country woke up to the news of a gold medal for the third straight day of the ongoing multi-sport spectacle in Australia.

The 25-year-old lifted a total of total of 317kg, 11 lesser than his tally for yellow metal at Glasgow Games in 2014 where he had also achieved a Commonwealth Games record in Snatch with a 149kg lift.

However, Sivalingam managed made a 144-kg lift in Snatch in his final attempt and was pushed to the second spot, behind England's Jack Oliver, who had a 1kg lead.

However, the Indian weightlifter showed his class when he left the chasing pack behind with a 169kg lift in his first Clean and Jerk attempt. Sivalingam's dominance was such that he did not have the need to make the final attempt.

Satish Sivalingam
Satish Kumar Sivalingam won the gold medal even without attempting the Clean and Jerk for the third time.Jason O'Brien/Getty Images

Sivalingam's 173kg lift in Clean and Jerk confirmed his position to the top of the standings. Oliver, with a total of 312, finished second while Australia's Francois Etoundi won Bronze with a total of 305.

Have got time to prepare for Asian Games: Sivalingam

The two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist has now set his sights on the upcoming Asian Games, starting August 18 in Jakarta. The competition is expected to be tougher than that in Gold Coast but the confident weightlifter believes he has enough time to recover and then prepare.

Sivalingam also conceded he was not at his best during the 77kg final Saturday due to the injury he had suffered during national championships in February.

"I hope to do even better in the Asian Games because there is a gap now. Earlier Asian Games used to come within 20-25 days of CWG, which didn't give us enough time to prepare. But this time I have got time to prepare and be fully fit now," Sivalingam was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India.

"I had no hopes of winning a medal after I injured my thighs during the National Championships while attempting 194kg in clean and jerk. It's a quadriceps problem, even now I am competing at less than ideal fitness but I am glad that was enough to get me a gold," he added.

The Tamil Nadu weightlifter had to put behind the disappointment of an 11th place-finish at Rio Olympics in 2016 and he exactly did that to finish on the top step of the podium in Gold Coast earlier today.

IBTimes India has compiled a list of reactions to Sivalingam's gold medal-winning performance in Gold Coast. Check them out below.

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