Karnataka’s Gururaja Poojary has expressed his delight at winning a gold medal in the Commonwealth senior weightlifting championships in Penang last week, calling it a big step in his career.
The 24-year-old returned to India in the early hours of Sunday, having won the men’s 56kg event. “It was my best-ever performance,” said Gururaja, who completed a total lift of 249kg (108+141).
“I didn’t expect it because there was going to be tough competition from the Malaysian and Sri Lankan lifters. When I won the gold at the South Asian Games this February, I had lifted 241kg. So I’m happy with this effort.”
The son of a pick-up-truck driver, Gururaja hails from Kundapura in coastal Karnataka. “When I started weightlifting in 2010, things were hard at home. I needed money for my diet and supplements, but my father couldn’t support me. We were a family of eight. Things are better now,” he said, speaking on the phone from the NIS in Patiala, where he’s part of the National camp.
Gururaja, who is undergoing training as an aircraftman in the Indian Air Force, hoped this victory would herald more international success.
“The gold-medal-lift at the 2014 Commonwealth Games (Sukhen Dey, men’s 56kg) was 248kg and I have gone past that now,” he said. “My aim is to first qualify for the 2018 edition and then win a medal there.”
