Commonwealth Games
'It was a great honour': Jeremy Lalrinnunga on Samoan's gesture on podium
Commonwealth Games 2022: Jeremy Lalrinnunga was shown a traditional sign of respect by his Samoan competitor after his gold medal.
Jeremy Lalrinnunga is garlanded by the silver medallist from Samoa on the CWG podium (Screenshot)
Jeremy Lalrinnunga said he was bowled over by Samoan weightlifter Vaipava Nevo Ioane's gesture on the podium after he won gold in the Commonwealth Games 67kg weightlifting category on Sunday.
"It was a great honour. It's something traditional that they do. The Samoan lifter is someone very senior, I have seen a lot of him, so it meant a lot to me," Jeremy said in a press interaction after his gold medal win, the biggest medal in his senior career so far.
At the medal ceremony after 19-year-old Jeremy secured India's second gold medal of CWG 2022, the Samoan silver medallist took off the red flower wreath from his neck and put it on the Indian's neck, much to everyone's surprise.
The Samoan lifter left his boots at the podium after his final lift, indicating his retirement from the sport.
He has been representing Samoa for over 15 years, having collecting medals for his country since 2007 when he won gold at the South Pacific Games.
"After the Youth Olympics, this is my first big medal in a major global competition. I was feeling confident about pulling it off because we have been training in Birmingham for the last month for this," Jeremy added in the interaction.
