Son of a peasant, Desti dreams of Olympic glory

PUNE: Growing up in a family of peasants in Berhampur, Odisha, all Bhaktaram Desti wanted to do was go to a gym. However there was no way his parents --- who owned a small piece of land --- could afforded membership to a private gym.

His school had a weightlifting facility, and one day, as he was watching kids train, the coach asked if he would like to give it a shot. Thus began the sporting journey of Desti, who clinched the weightlifting gold (U-17) in the 49kg category, on the opening day of Khelo India Youth Games at the Shree Chhatrapati Sports Complex on Wednesday. Desti had also clinched gold in last year’s Khelo India School Games.

After receiving the medal from two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, Desti dedicated it to his parents, saying through sports he wants to change the fortune of his family.

“I am thankful to my parents for their support. They have taken lot of pains for me. I hope to bring respect and fame to my family,” said the 16-year-old, who is in no mood to rest on his laurels and dreams of winning an Olympic gold some day.

“My dream is to represent my country and win an Olympic gold,” he added.

Desti, who recorded a lift of 186kg in total and broke the national youth record in clean and jerk with a lift of 105kg, also acknowledged the contribution of his coach Site Jena. “I owe my success to Site Jena sir. He has been instrumental in shaping my career,” said Desti.