Teenage Nigerian weightlifter Augustina Nkem Nwaokolo has won the first gold medal of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi in the women's 48kg division.

The 17-year-old set a new Games record of 175kg after lifting 77kg in the snatch and 98kg in the clean and jerk to upset home favourite Soniya Chanu.

The Indian twice failed to lift the 103kg she needed to take gold and had to settle for silver with 167kg.

Fellow Indian Sandhya Rani finished third with an aggregate of 165kg.

India also took silver and bronze in the men's 56kg category with Sukhen Dey and Srinivasa Rao finishing behind Malaysia's Amirul Hamizan Ibrahim.

Ibrahim won the gold medal in Manchester in 2002 but missed out on defending his title in Melbourne four years later while he served a two-year doping ban.

MATTHEW PINSENT'S BLOG
India have set the target of 100 medals in Delhi, aiming to finish second behind Australia in the table, so a good start on day one would have lifted a whole team and set a stiff challenge

He waited until the late stages of the snatch to make his first appearance in the Delhi competition and comfortably lifted 111kg to take the lead, just moments after compatriot Mohammad Shafiq Ismail had been successful with 109kg and Dey had lifted 110kg.

Dey, the first Indian weightlifter to win a world junior championship medal when he claimed bronze in 2009, then hit back with a comfortable 112kg but Ibrahim replied with a Commonwealth record of 116kg to restore his advantage.

In the clean and jerk, Dey went ahead with a 140kg lift before Ibrahim went a kilo better, knowing that he had the advantage on bodyweight to set a new record of 257kg.

Dey was forced to attempt 146kg which proved beyond him, but he held onto silver when Rao also failed at 146kg.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/commonwealth_games/delhi_2010/9058006.stm