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What's the news?
Jeremy Lalrinnunga won a gold medal in the Men's 67kg category at the ongoing National Weightlifting Championships by lifting a total of 299kg (132kg in snatch + 167kg in Clean and Jerk), in the process bettering his own record in Clean and Jerk.
The background
The Aizawl-born Weightlifter first came to the spotlight when he bagged a historic gold medal at the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games in the Boys' 62 Kg category with a total lift of 274kg (124kg in snatch + 150kg in clean and jerk). He became the first Indian to win gold at the Youth Olympic Games and instantly received national recognition in the process.
Jeremy Lalrinnunga is a 17-year-old and is regarded as the country's biggest medal prospects in international events (in the near future) in the sport of weightlifting.
The heart of the matter
Lalrinnunga bettered his own national record in Clean and Jerk with his gold medal-winning effort at the Weightlifting Championships. His 167kg lift in the Clean and Jerk section is the new National record.
The gold medal was also a testament of Jeremy's nerves and temperament. The teenager also had two 'no lifts' in the Snatch section but was successful in lifting 132kg in his third and final attempt despite being under pressure.
Jeremy's total lift of 299kg was good enough for him to bag a gold medal at the National Championships. However, it was still quite far from his personal best of 306kg, which he lifted during the International Qatar Cup last year.
Meanwhile, in the women's 45kg category, Jhili Dalabehera bagged the top honours. She lifted a total of 160kg and won a gold medal by a whisker, lifting just 1kg more than the silver medal-winner in the category - MV. Thushmita. The win came as a huge sigh of relief for the Junior World Bronze medallist Jhili as she had had three 'no lifts' at the 2019 National Championships in Visakhapatnam and was thereby ruled out of the event last year.
Maharashtra's Shubham Kolekar got the bragging rights in the Men's 61kg category as he lifted a total of 272kg to win gold. Gururaja from the Services came in at a close second with a total lift of 271kg.
Furthermore, Sanket Sargar, another weightlifter from Maharashtra, won the gold in the Men's 55kg category with a total lift of 243kg (108kg in Snatch + 135kg in Clean and Jerk), setting a new record in the category. In fact, his 108kg in Snatch, as well as 135kg in Clean and Jerk are also separate national records in the respective sections.
Also check out: Olympics medal tally for the last edition
What's next?
Experts believe that Jeremy is a future medal hope at the Olympics. The young Indian weightlifter will look to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 but realistic chances of a podium finish will only be at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Meanwhile, there is plenty of action to come at the four-day National Championships. Star Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu is also participating in the meet.
