Bronze in his kitty, Lovepreet Singh’s village glitters on global map

Amritsar, August 4

Born in a family with limited means, Lovepreet Singh has made Bal Sachandar village proud by winning a bronze in the 109-kg category of men’s weightlifting at the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday.

Son of a tailor at Bal Sachandar, Lovepreet (24) lifted a personal best of 335 kg, including a new national record of 192 kg in clean and jerk. His mother Sukhwinder Kaur has been on cloud nine ever since she heard the news. “I have not seen him for the past nine months. He talked to me on phone after winning the medal. I am waiting for him to come home and hug me,” she said.

Manpreet Kaur, Lovepreet’s younger sister, said, “It is a proud moment for all of us. Born in a family with not many resources, my brother has always worked hard to attain this success.” She said Lovepreet had started weightlifting in Class IX and has not looked back since.

The weightlifter’s grandfather Gurmej Singh said, “We are eagerly waiting for Lovepreet to return home. We will celebrate his success when he comes back.” He said people from nearby villages were congratulating him and he was feeling very proud.

“Now I can proudly introduce myself as Lovepreet’s grandfather,” he added. The family said Lovepreet’s achievement from this nondescript village would motivate many others.