Tashkent is hosting the ongoing Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships starting from December 7. India is participating in this prestigious tournament and has won 12 medals till now. On the other hand, India won only 1 medal at the world championships, held simultaneously.

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• Indian weightlifter Punam Yadav bagged the silver medal at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2021 in the women's 76kg category. She also pulled off a total of 220kg (98+122) and ranked 7th in the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships.
• R Arockiya Alish brought bronze for India in a total lift of 214kg (91+123). She was ranked the ninth among all the 16 weightlifting competitors at the world meet.

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• Another Indian weightlifter who made India proud is Vikas Thakur. The 7-time national champion and twice CWG medallist clinched the bronze at the Commonwealth championships in the men's 96kg category. Also, He lifted a combined lift of 339kg (150+189). At the same time, he finished at the outside top-20 on the overall world championship leaderboard. He came 21st among the 38 competitors in the men's 96kg weight category.

The next game for India is the women's 87kg. It will occur on Thursday with Anuradha Pavunraj in action.

Indian weightlifter Preetismita Bhoi won the gold medal by creating a youth clean and jerk world record in the women's 40 kg category at the IWF World Youth Championships in Lima, Peru on Wednesday.

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Fifteen year old Preetismita improved her previous record of 75 kg by one kg.

Preetismita Bhoi also lifted a total of 133 kg from 57 kg in snatch on the first day of competition and missed the world record for total weight by two kg.

Jyoshna Sabar of India won the silver medal by lifting a total weight of 125 kg (56 kg and 69 kg). Fatma Kolcak of Turkey was successful in winning the bronze medal by lifting a total weight of 120 kg (55 kg and 65 kg).

Two other weightlifters from India also made it to the medal podium on the first day.

Meanwhile, Payal won the silver medal in the women's 45 kg category by lifting a total of 147 kg (65 kg and 82 kg).

Babulal Hembram became the fourth weightlifter from India to win a medal. He won the bronze medal in the men's 49 kg category with a total lift of 193 kg (86 kg and 107 kg). 

Notably, Preetismita Bhoi trains at the Odisha Weightlifting HPC sub-center in Dhenkanal with Gopal Das being her mentor. 

On the other hand, Jyoshna trains at the HPC Bhubaneshwar under the mentorship of the CWG 2010 gold medallist Katulu Ravi Kumar, who is currently serving as General Secretary of the Odisha Weightlifting Association.

Sadly, A. Maharajan missed out on a medal as he finished fourth in all the three disciplines of the men's 55 kg weight category. He registered lifts of 98kg in the snatch, and 117Kg and 215kg in the clean and jerk and aggregate lifts categories respectively.

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Indian won total of four medals on day 1

In total, India went on to win four medals on Day 1 of the ongoing IWF World Youth Weightlifting Championships. In the last year’s edition, Indian youth weightlifters managed to win one silver and four bronze medals in Albania.

Powerlifting is one of Turkmenistan’s most significant athletic disciplines. The nation recognizes the most distinguished athletes and gives them membership in its powerlifting team, denoting an athlete’s worth for regional and global championships and being victorious. Ahmet Gurbanov is a professional powerlifter who has captivated his nation’s attention and represented his country in numerous international affairs, winning countless tournaments and training apprentices in the craft.

Built for Power Triathlons

Since childhood, Ahmet has been involved in numerous sports activities, including football, wrestling, and swimming. At 14 years old in 2006, he engaged in powerlifting under the prestigious Turkmenistan Bashim Amanmyradov, and he envisioned himself becoming a powerlifting champion among his peers, then at the national level, then globally.

Through many years of vigorous training and competitions, he became a gold-medaled Turkmenistan champion multiple times, earning him a position on the Turkmenistan National Powerlifting Team in 2009. Since then, the association has sent Gurbanov to over 30 international championships, in which he earned many podium finishes. The Turkmen government has awarded him 15 Certificates of Honor in recognition of his prowess.

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Ahmet first represented Turkmenistan in the 2009 Asian Championship in India, where he competed in three powerlifting categories (squat, bench, deadlift) simultaneously and won four silver medals. His first milestone took place in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2011, when he set a European and a world record in the sport.

In 2014, he studied at the Karachay-Circassian State University in the Russian Federation to receive an honours Bachelor’s degree in Pedagogical Education. He learned methodical sports teaching, therapeutic sports and massage, gymnastics theory and methodology, and medical sports. During his enrollment, he participated in several Russian tournaments, winning five gold medals and one silver medal.

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Ahmet also trained under the guidance of Dovletnazar Atanazarov, a four-time world champion, and a Turkmenistan National Powerlifting Team head coach. Having moved to the USA, Ahmet volunteered as a coach at Champion Jiu Jitsu School, where he taught the youth new powerlifting methods and approaches. At the same time, he won three gold medals and became a world champion at the global tournaments in Las Vegas in 2022. His efforts in the United States presented him with numerous work opportunities, including training upcoming athletes and performing in competitions.

A Teacher to the Local Community

Alongside his extraordinary powerlifting abilities, Gurbanov has applied his skills as a local trainer in Turkmenistan. In 2018, he taught students in his local community the basics of powerlifting and strategies for mastering the exercise.

His apprentices succeeded in his class and participated in local and national championships. He demonstrated other talents as a teacher by exhibiting successful trainee control and giving each student an individual learning experience. Ahmet sought to improve his students’ and collective team’s results.

Ahmet has served as a judge and a sportsman. In 2018, he was a judge at the Turkmenistan Powerlifting Championship, asserting his expertise to rank each lift accurately and impartially.

Note: The article was originally written by Matthew Caldwell, who is a personal trainer and advises his students on techniques, exercise programs, and healthy lifestyles for optimal sports performance.

Commonwealth Games medalist weightlifter Bindyarani Devi won India's first-ever World Cup medal by clinching bronze in the women's 55kg weightlifting event at the IWF World Cup here on Tuesday. Competing in the non-Olympic weight category, 25-year-old Bindiarani lifted a total of 196 kg (83 and 113 kg) to win the bronze.

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However, this Manipuri weightlifter could not perform as per expectations. She won a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham with a total effort of 203 kg. The Indian player could make only three valid attempts in six attempts. Her total weight effort was 38 kg less than Kang Hyon Gyong of North Korea who won the gold medal with a total lift of 234 kg (103 and 131 kg). Romania's Cambei Mihaela-Valentina, who qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024 in Mirabai Chanu's 49kg weight category, won the silver medal with a personal best effort of 201kg total (91 and 110kg).

Bindyarani Devi also won a silver medal in the clean and jerk category by lifting 113 kg. At continental, World Cup and World Championships, medals are awarded separately for snatch, clean and jerk, and total weight. Despite winning a medal in the final Olympic qualifying event, Bindyarani is out of contention for the Paris Games, but she gave her best to give the country a podium finish.

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Bindyarani Devi moved up to the 59 kg weight category included in the Paris Olympics and competed in that category at the 2022 World Championships and finished 25th. She then returned to her old 55 kg weight category in which she had won a silver medal at the Asian Championships last year. Bindyarani is currently ranked 29th in the 59kg Olympic Qualification Ranking (OQR) and is out of contention as the top 10 lifters in each weight category will qualify for the Paris Games.

Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, Mirabai Chanu Indian secured her place in the Paris Olympics 2024 by finishing third in Group B of the women's 49 kg weight category at the IWF World Cup on Monday. 

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Mirabai, who returned after six months due to injury, lifted a total of 184 kg (81 kg and 103 kg). This is the final and mandatory qualifier tournament for the Paris Olympics 2024. With the completion of her competition, Mirabai has fulfilled the criteria set for the Paris Games, which include participating in two mandatory tournaments and three other qualifiers in Weightlifting. 

Mirabai is currently ranked number two in 49kg category

India's 2017 world champion Mirabai is currently ranked second in the women's 49kg Olympic Qualification Ranking (OQR) behind China's Jiang Huihua. The official announcement of the qualifying players will be made after the conclusion of the World Cup when the OQR will be updated. The top 10 lifters from each weight category will qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024. 

Mirabai had last participated in the Asian Games in September last year where she got injured. She could not perform at her best but she did not make any mistakes in lifting the weight five times. She could not even come close to her best performance in snatch and clean and jerk. The 29-year-old has a personal best of 88 kg in snatch, while she had set a world record of 119 kg in clean and jerk at the Asian Championships in 2021. 

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Mirabai has just recovered from the injury and still has time to peak in July and her progress looks good. Mirabai will be the only Indian weightlifter to participate in the Paris Olympics 2024. This will be the third time that she will participate in the Olympics.