Khelo India: Haryana banks on champion wrestler Anshu

Youth Olympics gold medallist weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga from Mizoram will be one of the star attractions.

Published : Jan 08, 2019 23:39 IST , Pune

Youth Olympics gold medallist weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga from Mizoram will be one of the star attractions.
Youth Olympics gold medallist weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga from Mizoram will be one of the star attractions.
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Youth Olympics gold medallist weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga from Mizoram will be one of the star attractions.

With international players like world cadet champions Anshu and Sonam in the fray, wrestling powerhouse Haryana will be looking to continue its domination in the second edition of the Khelo India Youth Games, which officially begins here from Wednesday.

Last year, Haryana had won 11 gold medals, out of which eight came from the girls category.

Maharashtra manged just one gold but finished second overall with seven medals.

Anshu (U-21) became world cadet champion at Athens in 2017 and continued her medal spree by winning the Asian Cadet championship in Uzbekistan in May and a bronze at the Junior World in Slovakia in September 2018.

 

She will be participating in the 62kg category, while Sonam, a 16-year-old from Madina village in Sonepat, will be another attraction in the Under-17 65kg category, a media release issued here said on Tuesday.

Sonam has won the 56kg world cadet championship and continued to win medals at the National School Games and Khelo India.

“Of course, Haryana wrestlers are a tough nut to crack but our top wrestlers like Bhagyashri Fand and Supriya Mishra have a good chance for a podium finish,” said Maharashtras Under-17 girls’ team coach Shabnam Shaikh.

Among the boys, Haryana will have an upper hand with cadet Asian gold medallist Akash Dahiya (61kg) and Praveen Malik in the 74kg category in the fray.

Star attraction

Youth Olympics gold medallist weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga from Mizoram will be one of the star attractions.

Sixteen-year-old Jeremy, who was training with the Army Sports Institute here had bagged a gold medal in 62kg weight category, representing Maharashtra, in the first edition of these Games held last year.

Jeremy will be joined by his statemate and ASI trainee Jacob Vanlaltluanga, who had won a bronze medal in Asian Youth and Junior Championship held in Uzbekistan in April 2018.

Jacob will be taking part in U-21 in weight category 61 kg.

Meanwhile Maharashtra’s hopes are pinned on Abhishek Nipane (U-21, 67kg), and in the girls’ category, Khushali Gangurde (U-21, 45kg) is considered as medal prospect.

“The lifters from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana are doing well and now the boys from Arunachal Pradesh have marked their presence at the national level,” former national coach Pal Singh Sandhu was quoted as saying in the release.

At the Khelo India School Games 2018, Haryana won 38 gold, 26 silver and 38 bronze medals, while Maharashtra finished with 36 gold, 32 silver and 42 bronze medals.

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