By Siva Gorripati
VISAKHAPATNAM: Anakapalli boy SK Lal Basheer in the undivided Visakhapatnam district won the gold medal in Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship in Noida of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday in the Juniors 89 kgs weight category.
The degree final year student from Nagarjuna University won the yellow medal by lifting 136 kgs in Snatch and 162 kgs in Clean and Jerk with a total of 298 kgs, said the Indian Weightlifting Federation vice president Kancharana Suryanarayana. The son of a locks repair mechanic in Anakapalli town had already been selected for the Indian team that would participate in the Asian Weightlifting Championship to be held from July 28 to August 5 in Noida.
Trained under coach Dinshaw Babu, the 19-year-old lifter showed better performance in Senior Nationals this year by lifting 140 kgs in Snatch and 166 kgs in Clean and Jerk by adjusting to the Silver medal. He won the gold medal in Khelo India Weightlifting Championship by registering 140 kgs in Snatch and 162 kgs in Clean and Jerk.
In 65 kgs Junior category world champion, Vizianagaram boy Sanapati Guru Naidu, adjusted to Silver medal with 103 Kgs in Snatch and 125 kgs in Clean and Jerk.
Vizianagaram boy bags gold
VIZIANAGARAM: A father inspired his son to bring laurels to the country. The teenage weightlifter Valluru Ajay Babu bagged a gold medal in the Junior 81kgs category in Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship at Noida in Uttar Pradesh.
He lifted 141 kgs in Snatch and 168 kgs in Clean and Jerk with a total of 309 kgs.
The 19-year-old Ajay from Kondavelagada village in Nellimarla mandal of Vizianagaram district was inspired by his coach father Valluru Srinivasa Rao for clinching gold medals in competitions. The bronze medalist in Commonwealth Games 2010, Delhi, Valluru Srinivasa Rao is working as a Subedar in Indian Army and acting as a weightlifting coach. He nurtured his elder son Ajay Babu to become a quality lifter. "He has strong willpower and commitment. I hope that my son will bring more medals to the country," the Army Coach said.
The teenager bagged three gold medals in the past year including Khelo India Youth Weightlifting 2023 and 2022, Junior Nationals, and Youth Nationals before Commonwealth Weightlifting Competition. The inmate National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) of Sports Authority of India at Patiala NS NIS center is presently in the Indian Team that has been undergoing training for the Asian Weightlifting Championship to be held in Noida from July 28.
