Weightlifting is also commonly known as Olympic-style weightlifting, where each athlete is aiming at successfully lifting the heaviest weights. The athletes compete to lift a barbell loaded with weight plates in two specific competitions, snatch and clean and jerk. The snatch is a single move lift with a wide grip, it requires the weighted barbell to be lifted to arm’s length overhead. The clean and jerk is a two move lift in which the weight is first lifted from ground to the shoulders (the clean) and then lifted overhead with a straight elbow (the jerk), the weightlifters have to hold it until the buzzer sound. Each weightlifter gets three attempts in each category with the snatch attempts being done first. The final score is the total of the highest successfully lifted weights (in kgs).

The weightlifting events first featured in the 1896 Olympics and continued till 1904, post that they were briefly halted till 1920. 1920 was also the year when the International Weightlifting Federation (Fédération Haltérophilie Internationale) was founded to standardize and oversee the international competitions. Apart from the Olympics, IWF World Weightlifting Championship is the flagship event for the sport, where athletes compete in 20 categories.

Scoring and Rules

Out of the three attempts given to the weightlifter in both snatch and clean and jerk competitions, the best attempt in each of the competitions is added up. The weightlifter with the highest combined weight lifted is the winner. If two weightlifters lift the same amount of weight, then the one with the lower body weight is declared the winner. If the body weight is also equal, the one with the lesser attempts will be the final winner.
The weight categories in weightlifting can be classified as follows:

• Men’s: 61 kg, 67 kg, 73 kg, 81 kg, 96 kg, 109 kg and over 109 kg.
• Women’s: 49 kg, 55 kg, 59 kg, 64 kg, 76 kg, 87 kg and above 87 kg.

It must be noted that women’s weightlifting event was not included in the Olympics until the year 2000.

The following are some basic rules of weightlifting that you should know:

• A participant is allowed to increase the weight in the next attempt only after a successful lift.
• The weightlifter who decides to lift the lowest weight in the 1st attempt is allowed to go first and has to lift it within a minute of his/her name being called out in the tournament.
• Weightlifters are allowed to cover parts of their body using tapes to avoid injury.
• A weightlifter can contest a judge’s decision.
• The podium for the competition is a standardized platform of 4 m X 4 m.

Equipments

• Barbell: It is a steel bar with rubber coated weight plates connected on either side. The men’s and women’s Olympic barbell weighs 20 kg and 15 kg respectively.
• Bumper Plates: They are the rubber coated weight plates that weigh between 10- 25 kg, where 10 kg is green, 15 kg is yellow, 20 kg is blue and 25 kg is red.
• Collars: They are used to secure the weight plates to the bar.
• Belt: A weightlifting belt may be worn by the weightlifter to increase intra-abdominal pressure.
• Chalk: Chalk can be used by lifters to promote dryness and prevent their hands from slipping.

Weightlifting in India

The Indian Weightlifting Federation is the governing body for the sport. It is affiliated to the International Weightlifting Federation, Indian Olympic Association and Asian Weightlifting Federation.

The following are India’s major international achievements in the sport:

• Kunjarani Devi won 6 silver medals at the World Championships from 1991 to 1997. She also won two consecutive bronze medals at the Asian Games (1990 and 1994).
• At the 2000 Summer Olympics, Karnam Malleswari won a bronze medal becoming the first Indian women to win an olympic medal.
• Sathish Sivalingam won four consecutive gold medals at the Commonwealth weightlifting championships (2012 to 2017).
• At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu won a gold medal while Mirabai Chanu bagged the silver in the women's 48 kg category. In the men's 56 kg category, Sukhen Dey won a gold and Ganesh Mali won a bronze. In the 77 kg category, Sathish Sivalingam won a gold medal, with 149 kg snatch setting a new games record.
• At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Mirabai Chanu clinched a silver medal. A year later she won a gold in the 49 kg category at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.