After Asian success, India’s youth weightlifters eye CWG ‘26 qualification

New Delhi, Dec 28 (IANS) India’s medal-winning athletes are aiming to reach higher levels in the new year after their impressive show at the Asian youth and junior weightlifting championships 2024 in Doha where India won 33 medals across youth and junior categories. 

The next target for the lifters is Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026 qualification and national weightlifting coach and Olympian Mirabai Chanu’s mentor Vijay Sharma says the Doha performance was promising and signals “a bright future for India.”

The weightlifting competition in Qatar featured 40 categories – 20 each in youth and junior levels. Medals were awarded for snatch, clean and jerk and overall sections in each of the 40 categories.

India’s youth (13-17 years) lifters won 21 medals, including seven golds. The juniors (15-20 years) won 12 medals. Uttar Pradesh’s 16-year-old Jyoshna Sabar was among the standout performers in Doha. She created an Asian record in the women’s youth 40kg class with a combined lift of 135 kgs. This reiterated Sharma’s thoughts that “India’s women had greater prospects of winning international medals.”

Khelo India's mission to tap grassroots talent and then groom them into potential winners at the international stage got a major boost as out of the 24 men and women who represented India at Doha, 22 were Khelo India Athletes (KIA). The entire squad trained at one of the three centres at Sports Authority of India (SAI) National Centres of Excellence (NCoEs) NIS Patiala, Imphal and Aurangabad.

Alakesh Baruah, the High Performance Manager for weightlifting at NIS Patiala, said: “Having so many youth athletes will only help in the long run. These kids hold great promise for the world junior and senior competitions.”

Baruah explained that the medals in Doha were due to a “long process (of training) and support from SAI and the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF).”

“In June, we held trials at NIS Patiala for multiple international competitions like the junior worlds, Asian championships, as well as the Asian youth and junior. This is how we selected the team, under the guidance of Dronacharya Award-winning coach (Vijay) Sharma,” added Baruah.

Speaking on her upcoming plans, Maibam Martina Devi, silver medallist in the women's Junior +87kg category at the 2024 Asian meet, told SAI Media, “Come 2025, our trials start for Commonwealth Games 2026 qualification. Ahmedabad will host the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships, which will be the qualifier event. I also will participate at the National Games in Uttarakhand. So, I have to keep performing well.”

Among the men, Sairaj Pardeshi, a camper of NIS Patiala, created a new national record in the overall lift, as he lifted 310kg (139kg snatch + 171kg clean and jerk) in the 81kg men’s youth category.

Sairaj, who will complete one year at the NIS Patiala in January 2025, credited the impact of training at SAI centres on his fledgling career.

“It was in 2018 that I started weightlifting in Maharashtra when I was 12 years old. I trained there until the Covid lockdown and then in 2021, got inducted at Aurangabad. Earlier this year, I joined NIS Patiala. The SAI centres have contributed a lot to my career in terms of discipline, diet, coaches and many more aspects,” he told SAI Media.

“The scholarship money we get more the Khelo India scheme, also helps in me getting the protein supplements besides other benefits. In the 2024 Youth World Championships, I lost a medal by a margin of 1kg, but now, I am happy to have bagged the gold in the Asian competition on my debut appearance,” Sairaj added.