KIYG 2025: Maharashtra's Pardeshi breaks three youth national weightlifting records on way to 81kg gold

Rajgir (Bihar), May 12 (IANS) Maharashtra weightlifter Sairaj Rajesh Pardeshi shattered three youth national records to clinch gold for Maharashtra in the ongoing Khelo India Youth Games at the Rajgir Sports Complex here on Monday

By lifting 312kg (140+172), Pardeshi improved his own records in snatch (139kg), clean & jerk (171kg), and overall lift (311kg) to emerge champion in the 81kg class. He had created all three records during the Asian Championships in Doha, Qatar, in December 2024.

Andhra Pradesh’s M. Tarun lifted 287kg, 25 kg less than the gold medallist, to take the silver while Aayush Rana of Uttar Pradesh settled for bronze with a total lift of 264kg.

The day concluded with Tamanna lifting Haryana’s first gold in weightlifting in the KIYC 2025 with a snatch record lift of 86kg, surpassing the mark of 85kg created by Delhi’s Chelsi at the Indian Weightlifting Federation’s National Championships in Itanagar this January.

Andhra Pradesh’s Challabathula Juhitha Guna took the silver with a total lift of 171kg and Kerala’s Renumol P. R. settled for bronze (164kg). Tamanna’s record was the 10th in the weightlifting competition so far.

Sairaj Pardeshi, who trains under Alkesh Barua at Sports Authority of India’s Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports in Patiala since 2024, was miles ahead of the competition and defended his KIYG gold clinched in Chennai last year in the same weight class. He had won a bronze in the 73kg category in the 2023 KIYG in Indore. He was inducted into SAI’s National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) at Aurangabad in 2021 and trained under DD Sharma.

“Initially my target was not the record and to take it one lift at a time but as the competition went ahead, I became determined to improve my performance to the best of my ability. I would like to thank my family, coaches, and the government for their continuous support.

“I want to become the first male from India to win a medal in the Olympic Games. Karnam (Malleswari) and Mirabai (Chanu) have already done that but somehow Indian men haven’t won a medal in weightlifting at the Summer Games. I want to change that,” Sairaj told SAI Media.

With the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) set to change weight categories for international competitions next month, Pardeshi, a Khelo India Athlete (KIA), plans to put on weight to compete in a higher class.

“I want to change and get into the 88kg class as that is most likely to become the rule soon by the IWF. With more body weight, I am confident that it will improve my lifting even further. Being part of NCOE has a lot of benefits. I receive world-class coaching and training facilities, apart from good recovery support, a must for lifters as it is an injury-prone sport.

"I also get all expenses paid for national and international competitions. That makes an athlete’s life much easier, and I would like to thank the Sports Ministry and SAI for all their support,” the 17-year-old added.

Earlier, Tayar Ronik captured Arunachal Pradesh’s first weightlifting gold medal in KIYG 2025 when he lifted 154kg in clean & jerk in his third attempt to pip Hemanta Doimari of Assam in the 73kg class. Tayar lifted a total of 267kg, one kilogram more than Hemanta. Madhya Pradesh’s Himanshu Kushwaha settled for bronze with a total lift of 255kg.

After being medal-less at the last two KIYG editions and three Indian Weightlifting Federation National Youth Championships, Tayar Ronik overcame self-doubts to lay his hands on the yellow metal.

“I am delighted with this victory as this is my first Khelo India medal after participating for the third time. Also, I had missed out on a medal in the Nationals in my previous three attempts, so it is a huge relief for me as I know how much hard work I have put in to reach here.

"I didn’t go to my hometown after the Nationals in October last year, as I was very unhappy with myself for not being able to win a medal there. I resolved that I will go home only when I win one,” Tayar, who began lifting weights at 9 years of age, told SAI Media.

In youth girls 64kg, Andhra Pradesh’s Gujjala Varshita secured the gold medal with a total lift of 174kg, two kilograms higher than her closest rival Tiki Mohini Mallik of Odisha. Hailing from Olympic medallist Karnam Malleswari’s hometown Srikakulam, Gujjala’s ultimate aim is to represent india in multi-discipline events like Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.

“I am very happy to win gold here. My next target is to go for Nationals and qualify for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games through the selection trials scheduled next month. My idol is Karnam Ma’am as she won India’s first weightlifting medal in the Olympics. I want to make my family, state, and country proud like her,” Gujjala told SAI Media.

On the other hand, Tiki, who hails from the Malukutupulli village of Ganjam district, has been training at the High-Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar since 2021. Daughter of paddy farmer Maguni Mallik, Tiki is receiving guidance from coach K. Venkat Laxmi and has trained her eyes on the Odisha State Championship and then the IWLF National Championship.

In the first event of the day, Maharashtra’s Tanuja Subhash Pol clinched the gold medal in the youth girls 59kg by lifting overall 171kg (71+100). Andhra Pradesh’s Tharangini Karangi lifted 170kg to take the silver, and Bhavna Gogoi of Assam settled for bronze at 167kg. Tanuja hails from Karad town of Satara district in Maharashtra and trains under coach Samrat Pawar. Bhavna, who trains at the Karnam Malleswari Weightlifting Academy at Bilaspur, Haryana, aims to play for India one day.

--IANS

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