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Powerlifting may not be an Olympic sport, but practitioners this iron game of Odisha have been fetching much better success for the state than Olympic disciplines such as basketball, badminton, boxing, table tennis, tennis, volleyball and wrestling.
Besides being a dominant force in national championships for over a decade, Odisha has the credit of producing many international medallists including Ranu Mohanty, Mandakini Mohanta, Sangeeta Singh and Pradeep Kumar Patra.
The state added yet another feather to its cap by winning women`s team title for the first time in the Senior National Championship, the 33rd edition of which was held at Kashipur in Uttarakhand from September 7 to 13.
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Debi Singh and Laxmimani Singh captured a gold medal each in 47kg and 52kg unequipped categories respectively, while Priyadarshini Bisoi pocketed silver in 72kg group. Mayurbhanj girl Debi Singh lifted 105kg in squat, 62.5kg in benchpress and 147.5kg in deadlift for a total of 315kg). Her districtmate Laxmimani lifted 95kg in squat, 47kg in benchpress and 130kg in deadlift for a total of 272kg.
Rourkela girl Priyadarshini lifted 140kg in squat, 60kg in benchpress and 160kg in deadlift for a total of 360kg. In equipped category, Debi claimed bronze in deadlift with an effort of 147.5kg. Priyadarshini also secured bronze, lifting 200kg in squat.
Odisha men also would have been team champions if they not made a tactical mistake and suffered injuries in the 41st edition of the Senior National Championship, held simultaneously at Kashipur. They finished runners-up, collecting one gold, one silver and one bronze in unequipped category.
Sanjay Nayak grabbed the gold in men`s 105kg class, lifting 255kg in squat, 180kg in benchpress and 285kg in deadlift for a total of 720kg. But international Pradeep Patra missed what would have been a sure gold in 66kg class due to his own folly. He lifted 200kg in squat, 115kg in benchpress and 235kg in deadlift for a total of 550kg. Kondagori Dora secured bronze in 83kg class with a total lift of 610kg, which included 225kg in squat, 140kg in benchpress and 245kg in deadlift.
``Pradeep had suffered an injury in the recent state championship, while attempting 270kg in deadlift. In the National meet, he did not go for second attempt after clearing 235kg in the first,`` revealed Odisha Powerlifting Association (OPA) secretary Chitta Ranjan Swain.
``But he committed a silly mistake by making an early disclosure of his decision not to go for second attempt. When his nearest opponent knew about this, he added 22.5kg in his second attempt, cleared it by the skin of his teeth and took the gold, leaving silver for Pradeep,`` added Swain.
Odisha experienced another setback as international Tarandeep Singh, another gold medal prospect, returned empty handed after injuring his left biceps during competition. However, the OPA secretary lauded the overall achievements of the state squad and expressed hope that the lifters would learn from their mistakes and not commit the same in the future.
As expected, the medal winners of the 23-member state squad were felicitated here at Utkal Karate School on their return home today. Titlagarh MLA Tukuni Sahu, Bhubaneswar Mayor Anant Narayan Jena graced the function as guests. But it was good to see the lifters coming together immediately and dissecting their performance.
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TOP: Odisha powerlifters at the felicitation function in Bhubaneswar on Sept 16, 2015.
RIGHT: Some of the medallists with OPA secretary in Bhubaneswar on Sept 16, 2015.
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