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Scribes have featured man's fascination for physical prowess in the annals of recorded history of great civilizations. Paintings and sculptures found in ancient Egypt, Greece, Babylon and Rome attest to strong men achieving immeasurable feats by lifting objects more than 3 times the size of their body. However, many believe that it was in ancient China that the sport of weightlifting received its initial set of laws. Since the 10th century B.C. soldiers of the Chou Dynasty are said to have competed against each other by lifting weights to gain admission into the military. There are even older Chinese texts dating 5000 years, which have a similar resemblance to the practice of weightlifting.

The act of weightlifting, let alone the sport of it, immediately brings to our head an image of a dumbbell. The word ‘dumbbell' refers to the bell without the clappers, which rendered them mute and easier to lift during medieval times.

It was in the 1st modern Olympic games in Athens in 1896, where weightlifting was one of the 9 sports, and it has missed only the 1900 Paris Olympics since then. Even though it was never a part of the ancient Olympics, it remained a familiar practice in throughout history.

Weightlifting is a sport in which participants attempt a maximum weight single lift of a barbell loaded with weight plates. In each of these weight divisions competitor are given three attempts to complete both snatch, and clean & jerk lifts, with their best performance in both movements added together to determine the final placement within the competition.

The ‘king of lifts', also known as the clean and jerk lift, allows the athelete to lift more weight than any other method of lifting over ones head. The clean portion of the lift refers to when the lifter, in a single movement, pulls the weight from the floor to a position across the contours of the shoulders. From this standing position, the lifter uses his knees to propel the barbell upwards. As he moves into position, he holds the barbell overhead, with outstretched hands.

The snatch is used to lift a barbell overhead in a smooth continuous movement. The barbell is pulled as high as the chest region and then flipped overhead. The lift favours raw strength but those who have mastered the skill of it can pull it off. It demands a high degree of shoulder flexibility, balance, and speed.

Weightlifting was included in Commonwealth Games since the Auckland Games in 1950 and remained a Core Sport, to be held at every event. Today there are eight weight classes for men and seven weight classes for women. The women's event is divided into the following categories - 48 kg, 53 kg, 58 kg, 63 kg, 69 kg, 75 kg, and 75+ kg, with a total of 21 medals up for grabs.

In a sport of such physical acumen, doping has played a huge part in its tainted history. Doping incidents have plagued the weightlifting game for years and tend to make more headlines ahead of big events for all the wrong reasons.

India has suffered the wrath of the International Weightlifting Federation in recent times. Triple Gold medalist at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Shailaja Pujari has been banned for life, while Vijaya Devi and Sunita Kumari have been banned for 4 years and more recently, Samanacha Chanu also tested positive for the banned substance methylhexanamine. She had earlier served a 2-year ban for failing a dope test prior to the 2004 Athens Olympics.

In the last edition of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, India finished with a total of 9 medals in both men's and women's events, only Australia did better with a total of 11 medals. The seven women include Mebourne Gold medallist Kunjarani, Geeta Rani (75+kg) and Renubala Chanu(58kg), who will be joined by L Monika Devi (69kg), and Soniya Chanu (48kg).

Canada's hopes lie on the shoulders of Christine Gerard (63kg) after her fourth-place finish at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. While compatriots Marilou Dozois Prevosst (48kg) and Emily Quarton (58kg) will not be treated as push overs. New Zealander Kate Howard (53kg) is heading for her third Commonwealth Games and at 31 years of age, while compatriot Tracey Lambrechs (75 kg), is a strong super-heavyweight contender. England's 16 year-old prodigy, Zoe Smith could spring a surprise, after her gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2008. She teams up with Helen Jewell to compete in the under 58kg class.

Meanwhile, 27 year-old veteran lifter Deborah Acason, who won gold at the 2006 Melbourne Games, leads Australia's weightlifting team. Amanda Philips will join her and lend considerable experience to the Australian cause in an event they are expected to claim a bagful of medals.

Women were allowed to compete in weightlifting at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, where the Indian women did considerably well. But now, Malaysia, Samoa, Wales and Canada have improved their rankings and are looking to break into the Australia - India dominance of the event.

The XIX Commonwealth Games will be the third Commonwealth Games to feature women's weightlifting. A number of teams are preparing in Antalya, Turkey while they participate in the World Championships, before they arrive in New Delhi for the event. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will play host to the event, on which the bulk of the host nation's medal dreams rely on.

References -

TeamUSA.org
HickokSports.com
CWGDelhi2010.org
CBC.ca
NDTV.com