Preetismita Bhoi from Odisha won gold in the Women’s 40kg Clean & Jerk at the 2024 IWF World Youth Championships in Lima on Wednesday while compatriot Jyoshna Sabar bagged the silver medal.
Bhoi, set a new World Record (WR) on the way to gold with a 76 Kg lift, while Jyoshna tallied 69 kgs from her lifts. Turkey’s Fatma Sena Kolcak finished third with a lift of 65 kgs.
“I am honoured and thrilled to have set a new world record. This is a dream come true and I couldn’t have done it without the support of my coaches, family, and Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF). I hope this inspires others to pursue their dreams with determination and hard work,” said Preetismita.
“Preetismita is a true role model for aspiring weightlifters,” said IWLF president Sahdev Yadav.
India had won one silver and four bronzes at last year’s World Youth Championships in Albania.
“Getting selected to represent the country in the Youth Championships is an achievement in itself. In the last two years, Odisha has dominated the U14 category,” said Ravi Kumar, General Secretary of the Odisha Weightlifting Association.
Jyoshna Sabar poses with her silver medal from the Women’s 40kg Clean & Jerk at the 2024 IWF World Youth Championships. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
While Preetismita trains at the Odisha Weightlifting HPC sub-centre in Dhenkanal under the mentorship of Gopal Das, Jyoshna is part of HPC Bhubaneshwar where she is under the direct supervision of Ravi, who was a gold medallist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
Under the tutelage of Gopal Das, Preetismita toggles between schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya and training at the sub-centre. Jyoshna, who hails from a tribal village called Marlaba, undergoes home-schooling in the Bhubaneshwar centre in addition to the training.
“We had targeted the World Championships this year, in preparation for Youth Olympics and Commonwealth games,” Gopal said. “We were working hard for this [breaking the world record] and [Preeti] showed a lot of dedication and sacrifice to reach the target,” he added.
“A special thanks must be conveyed to Odisha Sports and Youth Services department for their involvement in providing us all the support we need and for considering weightlifting as an avenue for a future Olympic medal,” Ravi remarked.
In the men’s 49 kg event, Jharkhand’s Babulal Hembrom ended with a lift of 193 kg (86 + 107) which helped him secure the bronze medal.
India’s fourth medal came in the Women’s 45kg event after Payal finished second to Colombian Lawren Estrada.
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has trialled two platforms for the first time at the World Youth Championships allowing the men’s and women’s competition to commence simultaneously.
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