She comes from a family which lives on agriculture in Yeturu Nagaram of Warangal district of Telangana. But, that didn’t deter the 15-year-old Thuram Priyadarshini from scripting some memorable chapters in the world of weightlifting.
Beginning
Her latest achievement – winning gold in her maiden international event in the on-going Commonwealth Championship in Pune in the 44 kg (snatch 53 kg and clean and jerk 75 kg) could well be the beginning of a new chapter for his highly-rated weightlifter.
Even as her parents Srinivas and Sharada cultivate the farmland, their daughter is busy cultivating a winning habit in the world of sports at a very young age.
In a way, Priyadarshini’s feat is a continuation of the rich history in women’s weightlifting led by Karnam Malleswari’s bronze in the 2000 Sydney Olympics being the best ever by an Indian woman.
Going through the grind of selection process from the mandal to State-level before getting admission into the Sports School at Hakimpet in 2009, Priyadarshini was spotted by the indefatigable coach S.K. Singh and groomed into a champion weightlifter given her characteristics. A gold in the Sub-junior nationals was the first big result this Warangal girl got to grab the attention.
“I owe it to Singh sir. He is a great source of inspiration and strength along with Manikyalu sir (assistant coach),” says Priyadarshini after winning the gold from Pune.
Big events
“There was no pressure at all despite it being my maiden international event. Honestly, I didn’t expect the gold, but I loved the atmosphere and just wanted to stay focussed,” she recalls.
“All I hope now is to just keep doing well in the big events lined up in the near future,” says Priyadarshini, who interestingly looks to her teammates and seniors Matsa Santoshi and R.V. Rahul for the desired guidance.
And she is aware of the huge responsibility as the eldest of the three sisters in her family and hopes one day to see her parents in the comfort zone of life.
Significantly, Santoshi also won the gold in the 53 kg category (snatch 82 kg and clean and jerk 108 kg) in the seniors category in Pune. This was her fourth international gold of the total eight medals for Santoshi who last year won the silver in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
“This gold came at the right time as we are preparing for the Senior World Championshp in US next month. That is a big event as it is also one of the qualification events for the 2016 Rio Olympics,” says the 21-year-old champion performer.
