Surat: The atmosphere inside the dome at Dayalji Ashram was sizzling with power, competitiveness and an all-pervasive wave of excitement.
It had to be so with as many as 248 participants from across the state converged under it to take part in a powerlifting competition on Saturday. The event, a first of its kind initiative by the city police, aims to divert youth from drugs to sports activities. Of these participants, 18 are female cops, while 15 are male cops.
The event, held just before the International Women’s Day, became even more special with the participation of total 75 women, including the cops, from different parts of the state. “It is an opportunity for us to test our strength and compare how good we are in comparison to professional weight lifters,” said a participating female cop.
“I have been exercising for five years and have been practising powerlifting for a year now,” said Jagruti Sapkal, an IT professional, who added that the event was planned very neatly.
“With the support of the powerlifting association, police tried to organise the event in the best possible way and the response from participants is encouraging,” said J K Pandya, assistant commissioner of police, F division.
“A fit human body is a beautiful creation by god, a temple wherein our soul lives. The idea behind organising the event is to attract youth in keeping themselves fit and towards sports as well as wean them away from crime, drugs and liquor,” said Ajay Tomar, city police commissioner.