Pumping iron daily to become a weightlifter is no doubt a rugged and hazardous job. But it can pay wonderful rewards if practiced with dedication, devotion, and under proper guidance. Young Odisha lifter Swayamjit Prasad Sahoo proved it true by bagging the gold medal on his international debut at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship in Suva, Fiji today.
The 17-year-old lifter from Sariapada village in Dhenkanal district, clinched the gold in the 67kg youth category with a total lift of 247kg, which included 109kg in snatch and 138kg in clean & jerk. This is also the first-ever gold medal for Swayamjit, who trains under foreign coaches at the Odisha-Tenvic Weightlifting High Performance Centre, Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar.
His previous major achievement was a bronze medal at the National Weightlifting Championship in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh on 1 January 2024. Swayamjit’s golden journey from Sariapada to Suva is an exciting story, which started with weightlifting coach Gopal Krushna Das spotting him at his school.