An Indian school girl, 15-year-old Pritismita Bhoi stunned the global weightlifting community by breaking the world record when she was participating in the World Youth weightlifting championship in Peru recently. She was competing in the 40 kg category which meant that her own bodyweight had to be 40 kg or less. And she lifted up the barbell loaded with 76 kilos in the clean and jerk style of the competition. In other words, she lifted a weight that was approximately double of her own body weight.
How a young, small-sized girl from Odisha could lift a weight that was double her own weight was the topic that began to be discussed by all who were present in the arena that day.
Remained unperturbed
But Pritismita herself seemed unperturbed. It was as if she is used to lifting huge weights and shattering the world record was just another of her daily chores. She is one of the trainees at the High Performance Centre in Dhenkanal in Odisha. These high performance centres for sport have been set up in several regions of India to spot and train athletes from a young age.
She was among those youngsters who were selected to represent India in the World Youth weightlifting championships in Lima, the capital city of Peru. There she lifted 57 kg in the snatch style and 76 kg in the clean and jerk style to register a total of 133 kg to win the gold medal.
In the process she broke the world record in the clean and jerk section which was 75 kg. Her 76 kg lift exceeded the old mark by one kilo.
Others excelled too
Pritismita was not the only one who excelled that day. Close behind her was another Indian girl, Jyoshna Sabar who is also from Odisha. She claimed the silver medal by lifting 56 kg and 68 kg in the two styles of lifting. In other weight categories Payal (girls 45 kg category) and Babulal Hembron (boys 49 kg) also bagged medals in the prestigious event. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was among the first to offer congratulations to the winners.
Clearly our young brigade of weightlifters is a determined lot and full of confidence. They want to take on the world and prove that Indian weightlifters cannot be taken for granted any more. The success of these boys and girls are a good omen for the future of Indian weightlifting. Now it is up to the government to unearth more such gems and train them to become world champions.
India must follow China’s model
India must take a leaf out of China’s book and tap the rural regions like China did. Back in 1959, at the World Table Tennis Championships, Chinese table tennis player Rong Guotuan won the first world title in China’s sporting history. Due to the Chinese government’s single minded focus on developing sport, China has become a super power in world sport today.
Since 1959, Chinese players have won 1800 world championships and broken 1119 world records. If China can do it, why can’t India? What is needed is a change in mindset, rejection of caste and religious favouritism, giving greater importance to sports and complete dedication to achieve the objective. Youngsters like Pritismita have shown that India has the talent. It needs to be tapped and developed in a systematic manner by the government.
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