Commonwealth Games:Nigeria lifts first Gold and India opens account in women's lifting

Nigeria’s Augustina Nkem Nwaokolo won the first Gold medal of Delhi 2010 in a record-breaking session atJawaharlal
Nehru Sports Complex on Monday. Nwaokolo, aged 17, set new Games records in the Snatch, Clean and Jerk and overall categories to win Gold in the 48 kg class with a lift of 175 kg.

Hosts India opened their medal account in the Delhi 2010 Weightlifting competition when Soniya Chanu bagged a silver medal and Sandhya Rani Devi clinched a bronze in the women's 48 kg class.

Chanu cleared 167 kg to stand second in the event behind Nigerian woman Augustina Nwaokolo who hoised 175 kg to win the contest. She also created a new Games record. Sandya Rani took the bronze with a total clearance of 165 kg.

Chanu and Nwaokolo were tied with the same clearance of 94 kg in the snatch competition but the latter, who weighed marginally less than the Indian woman, settled the issue in the Clean and Jerk category by clearing 8 kgs more.

Nwaokolo broke the Snatch record on her second attempt, then improved it by moving from 76 kg to 77 kg. She then set a new Clean and Jerk record of 98 kg, for a total of 175 kg. It was that 98 kg lift that handed her the Gold, as Chanu failed with two attempts at 103kg.

All the 48 kg Commonwealth Games records were formerly held by Kunjarani Devi.

Australian Erika Yamasaki, who was in an equal third place after the Snatch, dropped every chance at 88 kg in her Clean and Jerk and failed to finish