Weightlifter Lovepreet claims bronze on CWG debut
Birmingham, Aug 3: India's Lovepreet Singh won a bronze in men's 109 kg to continue the country's medal rush in weightlifting at the Commonwealth Games here on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old son of a tailor from Ludhiana lifted a personal best of 355 kg, including a new national record of 192 kg in clean and jerk, to finish third on the podium.
A steady Lovepreet improved from 157kg to 163kg in his final attempt of snatch to be joint second with Canadian Pierre-Alexandre Bessette. However, the intense competition got the better of him in the clean and jerk, as he slipped to third position.
"I could not have been happier. This was my first big competition at the International stage and I produced my best ever show to return with a medal," said the former Commonwealth junior champion.
Junior Nyabeyeu of Cameroon claimed the gold medal with a total lift of 361 kg, while Jack Opeloge of Samoa bagged the silver by lifting 358 kg in the event.
Lovepreet could have joined his father's business, but his family wanted to make him a sportsperson, and his journey began at the age of 13 by training at the DAV Ground.
"Like every other athlete I too faced a lot of hardships, including financial constraints, but my parents ensured that I kept going."
Life changed after the heavyweight lifter joined Indian Navy in 2015, and then moved to the national camp at Patiala.
He went on to win the 2017 Commonwealth Junior Championship, and in the same year, bagged a bronze at the Asian Junior Championship.
In his maiden CWG, he had successful lifts in all his attempts in both snatch and clean-jerk, displaying his composure.
"This was my first major competition so obviously I was under pressure. But nerves settled after my first lift as I gradually kept on improving," he said.
Asked about missing the silver by three kilograms, he said: "I fought for it but the competition was tough. This has been my best ever show so I couldn't have been happier."
"We have National Games next and the next major competition is the Asian Games, but I don't have a category there. They have a weight category of 102kg there, so we will take a call," the lifter said.
"This medal is dedicated to all my coaches, family, parents and fellow countrymen," he added.
India have so far won nine medals in the weightlifting arena at the National Exhibition Centre, including three gold, to lead standings in the discipline. They have two more events lined up.
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EC begins phased publication of post-SIR rolls in Bengal; 1.18L names deleted in Bankura
Kolkata (PTI): The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday began publishing the post-SIR electoral rolls in West Bengal in phases, with figures from Bankura district indicating that around 1.18 lakh names have been deleted since the exercise commenced.
Hard copies of the updated rolls were put up in districts including Bankura and Cooch Behar, even as the lists were yet to be made available online on the designated EC portals and mobile application till reports last received.
In Bankura, where the electorate stood at 30,33,830 when the SIR exercise began on November 4 last year, the number in the draft rolls published on December 16 had come down to 29,01,009.
Following hearings and scrutiny during the subsequent phase of the SIR, around 4,000 more names were deleted. However, a few thousand fresh applications under Form 6, meant for the inclusion of new voters, were approved.
As a result, the final electoral roll of Bankura, considered a turf where both BJP and TMC have equal political dominance, now stands at approximately 29,15,000, indicating a net deletion of around 1.18 lakh names since the commencement of the SIR, a senior district official said.
Election Commission officials said the deletions were primarily due to death, migration, duplication and untraceability, while additions were processed after due verification.
Reports from other districts are still awaited.
The publication of the rolls is being carried out in phases across districts, and supplementary lists are expected to be issued as adjudication of pending cases continues.
According to officials, the publication classifies 7.08 crore electors, whose names appeared in the draft rolls issued on December 16, into three categories -- 'approved', 'deleted' and 'under adjudication/under consideration'.
Commission sources also indicated that in parts of north Kolkata, nearly 17,000 names were found missing from the approved rolls, further fuelling political reactions from rival parties.
The draft rolls published on December 16 had already seen the state's electorate shrink from 7.66 crore -- the figure based on names appearing in the rolls till August 2025 -- to 7.08 crore, with over 58 lakh names deleted during the first phase of scrutiny.
The SIR process, the first such statewide revision since 2002, began on November 4 last year with the distribution of enumeration forms. The commission took 116 days to provisionally complete the exercise and publish what officials described as a "final but dynamic" list, as adjudication in several cases is still underway.
The second phase involved hearings for 1.67 crore electors -- 1.36 crore flagged for 'logical discrepancies' and 31 lakh lacking proper mapping.
Around 60 lakh voters continue to remain under adjudication, meaning their inclusion or exclusion will be determined in supplementary rolls to be issued in phases.
Meanwhile, long queues were seen outside district election offices and cyber cafes across the state as anxious voters thronged centres to check their names in the updated rolls.
In districts such as Bankura, North 24 Parganas and parts of Kolkata, hard copies of the lists were put up on notice boards, drawing steady streams of residents since morning. Many were seen scanning page after page of printed sheets, some taking photographs on their mobile phones, while others sought help from officials to trace their entries.
At several district magistrate and sub-divisional offices, voters waited in serpentine queues for their turn to verify whether their names figured under the 'approved', 'deleted' or 'under adjudication' categories.
With the updated rolls yet to be fully accessible online, cyber cafes reported a sudden surge in footfall. In many neighbourhoods, small computer centres witnessed lines of people waiting outside, clutching voter ID cards and enumeration slips, reflecting both public anxiety and the high political stakes surrounding the revision exercise ahead of the assembly elections due in April.
