Weightlifting champs get a hero’s welcome on arrival

BERHAMPUR: The winners of the National Weightlifting Championship-2018, held in Nagapur, Maharashtra from December 15 to 22 were accorded a warm welcome on their arrival here on Monday.
While Bhaktaram Desti and Ragunath Khila of the sports hostel here won gold and bronze, respectively, in the 49 and 64-kg category of the youth event, the other two weightlifters from the state — Muna Nahaka and Debaki Khila — won a bronze in the 55kg (junior) and 64kg (woman youth) categories in the National Weightlifting Championship-2018.

Desti won the gold medal by lifting 83kg in snatch and 104kg in clean and jerk for a total of 187kg in the boy’s 49-kg category.

“As many as 27 weightlifters, including 14 boys and 13 girls, had participated in the championship. Apart from the medal winners, at least 10 weightlifters have also been selected to take part in the camp of Khel India held in Pune from January 9 to 15,” Ramesh Chandra Padhy of Berhampur, who participated as a referee in the tournament, said.

While the Ganjam district weightlifting and wrestling association (GDWWA) accorded a warm welcome to the medal winners at the railway station here on their arrival, the authorities of the sports hostel too gave a warm reception to their students. “They have made us all very proud,” Narayan Sahu, president of Odisha Weightlifting Association (OWA), said.

“Our hostel inmates have talent and they are expected to bring glory to the state in future,” hostel in-charge Sachidananda Majhi said. Seventeen-year-old Desti had also won a gold medal in the national school championship held in Assam last year and stood first in Khel India last year.

Berhampur is famous for its weightlifters like Bijay Satapathy, K Ravi Kumar and others who have won medals in international tournaments. “They have brought laurels not only to Berhampur, but also Odisha. We expect these young weightlifters to keep doing the same in the coming days,” Rabi Rath, adviser, GDWWA, said.