Powerlifting champ wants government support

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 2

Life has been an ordeal for polio-afflicted Ramandeep Kaur. The 26-year-old from Ghorewahi village near here is a national bench press powerlifting champion. 

Apart from the physical disability, Ramandeep has had to fight poverty too. Ramandeep cannot appear for the trials for the Asian Powerlifting Championship in Udaipur next month because she cannot bear the Rs 1 lakh cost for the tour.

Ramandeep today met Jalandhar DC KK Yadav seeking a government job. She says it is the only way she will be able to support her passion that needs a daily diet of Rs 500. It will also help her hire a coach. 

So far, Ramandeep, whose husband is a daily wager, has been training on her own. “My father-in-law helps me with the weights during the bench press. As I have moved up from 72kg to 82kg category, the weight I carry has increased; and my father-in-law has not been able to handle it,” says Ramandeep. 

“I need to hire a coach but I can’t afford to. I am a graduate from Devki Devi Jain College (Ludhiana). I feel that only if I get a government job or some kind of support will I be able to drive myself on,” adds the mother of a five-month-old child.

Despite the hurdles, Ramandeep won the national powerlifting championship in Riat (Kangra) in March. She is now looking forward to the World Championships in October.

Ramandeep, who lost her father when she was one, adds: “My mother stitched clothes to make ends meet. We were four siblings. I used to go to school at our village, crawling on the floor as I was 85 per cent disabled.” 

“When I joined college in 11th, I saw girls playing and aimed to be like them. A girl introduced me to weightlifting. I started practising at my place. My maternal grandfather encouraged me and started taking me to tournaments. Till date, I have won 13 gold medals,” recalls the five-time winner of strongwoman championships.

“The turning point came when, at a medical camp, I underwent seven surgeries, which reduced my disability to 45 per cent.”