Denied by a kilo: Lovepreet Singh misses gold by the barest of margins

As a result, Lovepreet, a Petty Officer with the Indian Navy, could only improve upon his bronze medal from the 2022 Birmingham Games to a silver.

“I missed out on the gold. Naturally, it hurts. I’ll do better in the upcoming competitions, like the Asian Games,” Lovepreet, who hails from Bal Sikandar village near Amritsar in Punjab, told the media in the mixed zone post the event.

His father Kirpal Singh runs a small tailoring shop in the village. Lovepreet was inspired by national-level weightlifter Heera Singh, who also hailed from there.

“When Lovepreet was young, he would take up daily at 3am and accompany my brother Satpal Singh to get vegetables from the sabji mandi and sell in the village before going to school,” Kirpal told The Indian Express.

Lovepreet took his first steps in the sport in the village – where he would train with other kids in the evening, a routine that lasted five years – before training at DAV School, Amritsar. A bronze at the Asian Youth Championships and the Junior Commonwealth title in Tashkent in the 105kg category in 2017 were followed by his entry into the national camp. Lovepreet won the silver at the Commonwealth Championships in 2021 followed by a bronze in Birmingham in the 109kg category.

“When Lovepreet expressed his desire to become a weightlifter, I did not hesitate for a second to allow him. Even though I used to earn 10,000 to 15,000 per month, I always tried my best to provide the best for him. He would cycle to his school in Amritsar and would then go to his training,” Kirpal had said in 2022.

The job with the Navy has helped his sporting career greatly and also got a better life for his family.

“His stipend would take care of his training. Prior to that, I would have to devote extra hours at my tailoring shop to earn some extra money to support him. Now, he has built us a new home and helped me open a new shop,” the proud father said.

On Thursday, he set a CWG record in snatch and looked set to bring another gold to the Indian kitty when Sanele Mao of Samoa, who had listed 175kg in snatch, failed in all his three attempts. His clean and jerk lift of 212kg propelled him to the gold medal position before Liti came up with a spirited performance to upstage him.