National Weightlifting Championships begins in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: The IWLF Youth, Junior & Senior National Weightlifting Championship 2021-2022 commenced today with 800 weightlifters from across 30 states participating in the event.

Declaring the event open by Sports Secretary, R. Vineel Krishna said, “We are very glad to be hosting this National Weightlifting Championship in Odisha, across categories. Weightlifting is a very important sport for India and has brought laurels for the country in the international arena.”

Speaking about the scenario of weightlifting in Odisha he said, “Even for Odisha, weightlifting is amongst a priority sport and I hope in the coming years, the weightlifters from our state will bring laurels for the state and country. We have also invested in 89 indoor multipurpose halls across Odisha where Weightlifting will be promoted and along with our Weightlifting High Performance Centre will collectively boost the weightlifting ecosystem in the state. We look forward to working with IWLF in not only hosting tournaments, but also setting up a National Centre of Excellence in Odisha.”

Addressing the gathering, President, IWLF, Sahadev Yadav, said, “Conducting such a big tournament was a challenge in itself for us. We are grateful to the Govt. of Odisha on keeping our request of conducting the Nationals. They have not only hosted this championship but actually hosted it in the best possible way. The facilities, the hospitality, the venue, everything is of the best quality and we look forward to organising bigger tournaments and one International Competition in the state of Odisha in 2023.”

For the first time in the history of this Championship, it has been decided that first, second and third prizes will be given to the athletes in all categories. The first, second, and third place winners will be awarded Rs 10,000, Rs. 5000, and Rs. 3000 respectively.

Indian Weightlifting Federation in association with Odisha Weightlifting Association with support from Sports and Youth Services Department, Odisha, will conduct the event.

Competition will be held in 10 different Weight Categories for Youth (Boys & Girls), Junior & Seniors (Men & Women).

This competition is the qualifier for 5th edition of Khelo India Youth Games, 2022 which is scheduled to be held later this year. This will also be considered a Selection Trial for the IWF Youth and Junior World Championships both for eligible lifters.

The event will go on till March 31 and will witness some of the finest weightlifters across age and event categories.

Other dignitaries present during the opening ceremony included President of Paralympic Committee of India, Deepa Malik; Director General Sports, KIIT University, Gaganendu Dash; Secretary General, Indian Weightlifting Federation, Ananda Gouda; president of Odisha Weightlifting Association, Chittaranjan Swain and secretary, Odisha Weightlifting Association, Narayan Sahu.