Odisha iron woman Jhilli Dalabehera bagged gold medal in 45kg women category at the Senior Asian Weightlifting Championship, held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan today. She lifted 69kg in snatch and 88 kg in clean & jerk for a total of 157kg. This was first Asian championship gold medal for Jhilli.

A former inmate of Sports Hostel, Bhubaneswar, Jhilli became the only Indian weightlifter to win gold in Asian Championships after Kunjarani Devi and Karnam Maleshwari, a feat which was achieved 26 years ago in 1995. Overall, Jhilli has bagged nine international medals till date, which include four gold, three silver and two bronze.

Though Asian championship was an Olympic qualification event, the gold medal feat of Jhilli will not be counted for the purpose. That is because 45 kg is not a recognised weight category for Olympic Games.
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PHOTO: Jhilli Dalabehera in action at the Asian Senior Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on 18 April, 2019.