Vikas Thakur (English: Vikas Thakur, born 14 November 1993) is an Indian weightlifter from Ludhiana, Punjab. He won the 96 kg at the Commonwealth Games, 2022 held in Birmingham, England. Won another Commonwealth Games medal with a silver medal in the category. Experienced Vikas Thakur lifted a total of 346 kg. (155 kg and 191 kg) and won his third consecutive Commonwealth Games medal. This is Vikas Thakur’s second silver medal in the Commonwealth Games. He also finished second at the 2014 Glasgow Games while he won a bronze medal at the 2018 Gold Coast Games. Vikas Thakur has won many weightlifting competitions in his weightlifting career. He is a total of 9 national medal winners with 8 gold medals and one silver medal.
Vikas Thakur was born on 14 November 1993 in Ludhiana, Punjab. His father’s name is Braj Thakur. He inspired his son Vikas from the beginning to pursue a career in sports. Vikas Thakur’s mother’s name is Asha Devi, who is a housewife. Vikas Thakur’s family also belongs to Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh. His father works as a Mail Express Guard in Indian Railways.
Vikas Thakur started weightlifting in 2002 at the age of just nine. He took weightlifting training under the guidance of Parvesh Chander Sharma, who worked with the Ludhiana District Weightlifting and Bodybuilding Club. He has also trained at the National Institute of Sports, Patiala by coaches Vijay Sharma and Sandeep Kumar. Currently (in 2022) Vikas Thakur is serving in the Indian Air Force. He has worked hard to reach here.
India’s heavyweight weightlifter Vikas Thakur lifted 96 kg. Won another Commonwealth Games (2022) medal with a silver medal in the category. Experienced Vikas Thakur lifted a total of 346 kg. (155 kg and 191 kg) and won a medal in his third consecutive Commonwealth Games. Samoa’s Don Opeloge totaled 381 kg. (171 kg and 210 kg) with record-breaking performances to win the gold medal and improve on her 2018 performance, where she won the silver medal.
Vikas Thakur lifted 187 kg in clean and jerk. Started by lifting weights. In the second attempt he got 191 kg. It took some effort to lift the weight, but the Punjab lifter was successful in the attempt and celebrated it by hitting his thigh, which has been popularized by Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan.
After being assured of silver medal, Vikas Thakur lifted 198 kg in his last attempt. Tried to lift a weight which was one kg more than his personal best. However he failed to lift this weight. But this competition was in the name of Opeloge who created a new Commonwealth Games record in all three categories of snatch, clean and jerk and total weight. Local contender Cyril Tchatchett disappointed as he failed to score a single legitimate attempt in the clean and jerk. Same thing happened with Antonis Martasidis of Cyprus. Tchatchet and Martasidis were both medal contenders.
Achievements
Won silver medal in the Commonwealth Championship held in 2013. Won gold medal in the weightlifting championship held in Almaty in 2014. Won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, 2014. Won bronze medal in Gold Coast, 2018.
