Jyoshna Sabar, a trainee of Odisha Weightlifting HPC, Bhubaneswar, claimed the overall silver medal with efforts of 56 kg in snatch, 69 kg in clean & jerk and 125 kg in total. A tribal girl from Gajapati district, Jyoshna won one silver each in snatch and total, but finished fourth in clean & jerk.

A disciple of Odisha weightlifting Olympian K Ravi Kumar, Jyoshna had bagged the overall bronze and snatch silver on her international debut at the 2023 Youth World Championship, held in Durres, Albania. She also has the reputation of winning youth-category gold and bronze medals in Commonwealth and Asian Championship respectively.

Expressing his joy for the splendid achievements of Preetismita and Jyoshna, former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Ravi Kumar said, “Both the girls are very talented cadets of the State-Government-run Weightlifting HPC. Their Youth World Championship medals will inspire young lifters in the State.”

“By winning the medals at the global stage our lifters have justified the Category-A recognition given to weightlifting by the Department of Sports & Youth Services, Government of Odisha. We are thankful to DSYS and Secretary R Vineel Krishna for setting up the Weightlifting HPC and providing top class facilities to the lifters,” added Ravi Kumar, who is also functioning as the secretary of Odisha Weightlifting Association as well as the head of the HPC.

Sharing his happiness for the sensational success of Preetismita, her coach Gopal Das of Dhenkanal Sub-Centre said, “She is a gifted talent and a quick learner. Her speciality is that she relies more on technique than on power. Because of that Preeti delivers optimum performance with minimum effort.”

“Preeti does her weightlifting training only in the evening session as she attends school during day time. I am thankful to the State Sports & Youth Services Department for boosting the careers of young lifters like her. Taking note of the fact that the Dhenkanal sub-centre lacks a good training facility, the DSYS has provided adequate quality equipment and other logistics,” added Das.

Sports Authority of India also played a commendable role in Preetismita and Jyoshna winning international medals. Before the Youth World Championship, both the lifters underwent an intensive training stint at the National Centre of Excellence in Patiala, under the guidance of Head Coach Vijay Sharma.

NB: The first name of Preetismita Bhoi has two different spellings. In the Aadhaar card and Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) record, it is Priteesmita. But the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) writes it as Preetismita.
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TOP: Preetismita Bhoi poses with her three gold medals at the Youth World Weightlifting Championships in Lima, Peru on 22 May 2024.
RIGHT: Jyoshna Sabar shows her two silver medals at the Youth World Weightlifting Championships in Lima, Peru on 22 May 2024.