Four years after overcoming the loss of his mother to take the podium in Delhi, Chalaev shrugged off knee injuries to do likewise in Glasgow.
Chalaev also set a competition-best record of 341kg -- 155kg in the snatch and 186 in the clean and jerk -- to surpass the total he managed in 2010, winning the Kiwi team's third weightlifting medal at these Games.
Since his last silver, Chalaev has entered only two competitions, hampered by persistent knee injuries that required surgery on each of the joints. He was a late qualifier for the Glasgow Games and, for that reason, he must be satisfied with his eventual result.
One of those competitions was last year's Oceania Championships where he also took silver behind David Katoatau of the Kiribati, who won gold again tonight. That medal marked his country's first ever at a Commonwealth Games -- and Katoatau celebrated in style, concluding his set with the gold already secure to finish with a 348kg total.
Chalaev sat in second-equal after the snatch portion of the competition, attempting in vain to grab the lead with the final lift of the section. After setting his initial weight at 145kg, the 27-year-old twice deferred before settling on 150kg, stepping up and nailing it with minimal fuss.
He was similarly convincing in making 155kg on his second attempt but, while trying to move ahead of England's Ben Watson with his last lift, Chalaev never looked like succeeding in his 158kg attempt.
Importantly for the Kiwi, though, he still sat 7kg ahead of Katoatau, whose set weight for the clean and jerk was 25kg more than what Chalaev initially indicated.
But that was before the mind games begun, and Chalaev shifted his first attempt from 175kg to 183kg, making the lift with a bit of extra exertion evident. By the time Chalaev stepped to the stage for his second lift, he was already guaranteed a medal, the only question that remained was of what colour.
His success in lifting 186kg put the pressure on the remaining two lifters but, after failing to lift 191kg, the gold was Katoatau's to win.
- Kris Shannon of APNZ in Glasgow
