Achinta Sheuli: Lost father at 11, did odd jobs for food, now won Gold for India at Commonwealth Games 2022

Achinta Sheuli, the new sensation of India, won the gold medal for India at the Commonwealth Games 2022 creating a new Games record. The 20-year-old weightlifter from Howrah, West Bengal lifted 303 kg to win India's third gold of the Birmingham Games. But, the road to the podium was never easy for the new sensation. He has to struggle for food to make himself ready for the competition.

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Achinta lost his father, Alok Sheuli when he was just 11, in 2013. Life was already tough for a family with two brothers, mother and father. After the sudden demise of his rickshaw puller father, it was Achinta's brother who inspired him to keep going.

The situation was so tough for them that they had to borrow money from others to get his father's funeral done. At 11, Achinta did not know how everything will go for him and his family. His brother was a weightlifter himself, so he decided to join him with a dream of changing the future of his family.

Achinta started training under Astam Das, a renowned coach from Howrah, who had his tough times as well. Astam used to train him without any fees due to his family conditions. But, to be able to lift weights like 313 kg, you need to be as strong as a super human. Achinta did not have the food to be that strong. He started to do odd jobs like stitching to be able to have the right food for his training.

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With dedication and determination, Achinta Sheuli kept on grinding hard under Astam Das. He won the bronze medal in the youth nationals in the 50kg category. Then everything started to change for him. He got selected for Army Sports Institute in 2014-15 and his career started to flourish there.

Achinta Sheuli then became the 1st Indian male to win a silver medal at IWF Junior World Championships in 2021. Though, things did not become that good for his family. But his dream to win a senior international medal kept him going. Achinta is now a Commonwealth Games record holder and a gold medalist in debut participation. Now he can hope that his wheel of fortune will now turn in his way post this Commonwealth Games 2022 success.

< Note: This article has been made from an original report by Sandip Sarkar for ABP. >