IWF Junior World Weightlifting Championships: After Harshada’s gold, Gyaneshwari clinches silver, Rithika wins bronze

New Delhi, May 3

Gyaneshwari Yadav clinched the silver medal while V Rithika finished third to give India a double podium finish in the women’s 49kg category at the IWF Junior World Weightlifting Championships in Heraklion, Greece.

It is heartening to note that only three overall medals were won earlier by the Indian weightlifters in all editions of Junior World Weightlifting Championships — Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (bronze), Jhilli Dalabehera (bronze) and Achinta Sheuli (silver) — Sahdev Yadav, IWLF President

Chhattisgarh’s Gyaneshwari produced a total effort of 156kg (73kg 83kg) to take home the silver medal on Monday night.

The 18-year-old Rithika had a total lift of 150kg (69kg 81kg) to bag the bronze medal in a depleted 10-athlete field, which was missing lifters from powerhouses China, North Korea and Thailand. Athletes from Russia and Belarus are banned from competing in IWF events. Russia had won the most medals — nine — in the last edition.

Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Windy Cantika Aisah of Indonesia defended her title thanks to a total effort of 185kg (83kg 102kg). The junior world record is 206kg (92kg 114kg) in the name of China’s Jiang Huihua.

It is the same weight division in which Mirabai Chanu won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, with an effort off 202kg (87kg 115kg). India’s tally has climbed to three medals. Earlier on Monday, Harshada Sharad Garud had become the country’s first weightlifter to win a gold medal at the event.

Best performance

This has been the best performance ever for India at the tournament. “It is heartening to note that only three overall medals were won earlier by the Indian weightlifters in all editions of Junior World Weightlifting Championships — Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (bronze), Jhilli Dalabehera (bronze) and Achinta Sheuli (silver),” said Indian Weightlifting Federation president Sahdev Yadav said, hoping India would win more medals in the event.