New Delhi: Despite a silver and a bronze medal to his team's kitty on the first day of the 19th Commonwealth Games here, India's weightlifting coach Harnam Singh was not a satisfied man.
The hosts opened their account when Soniya Chanu and Sandhya Devi won silver and bronze respectively, in the 48kg women's category, but they could not live up to Harnam's expectations.
Apologising for not winning the gold medal, Harnam said, "I want to say sorry to the whole nation for not winning the gold. We were sure to get a gold but Soniya failed to lift 76 kgs, which she was suppose to and that cost us the gold."
Chanu lifted 73 kgs in her first attempt in snatch but failed to lift 76 kgs in her second and third attempts. In clean and jerk, she lifted 94 kgs in her first chance, but was left with no option but to make an attempt at lifting 103 kgs in her next two attempts, to beat Nigeria's Augustina Nkem Nwaokolo, who clinched the gold with a total of 175.
"It was up to the player to lift the weight but she failed, so the blame primarily lies with her and then with me.
"I would not say that we went wrong with the strategy or technique as our players are technically strong. It was just bad luck," said Harnam.
Chanu too echoed her coach's sentiments while expressing her disappointment. "I think God was not with me today. I am extremely disappointed with my performance. Although I won the first medal for India but I am sorry for my coach who had pinned high hopes on me. We were expecting nothing less than a gold," said Chanu.
While disappointment was writ large on Chanu's face, bronze medallist Sandhaya Rani Devi seemed content with her effort. "I am happy with my effort," Sandhaya said after she came back from behind to finish on the podium.
"I am happy with the way I recovered and then went to on have a podium finish," said Sandhaya.
Gold winner Augustina Nkem Nwaokolo of Nigeria, who created a Games record after lifting 77 kgs in snatch and 98 kgs in clean and jerk, was understandably a satisfied woman.
Asked if the record was on her mind, the 17-year-old replied, "Yes, I believed I could do it. I was training very well and I had lifted it before also."
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