Farmer’s daughter Akshata reaps gold in weightlifting

PUNE: Akshata Basvani Kamati of Karnataka has won a gold medal in the under-21 age 71 kg category in weightlifting at the Khelo India Youth Games being held here.

Kamati, the daughter of a farmer, initially seemed nowhere in the running for the gold.

She heaved a modest 73 kg in the snatch and then failed twice at 76 kg, while her main rivals -- fellow Karnataka lifter Lavanya Rai (79) and P H Roshni of Arunachal Pradesh with 77 -- built a handy lead.

Stung by that reverse, Kamati opened with a successful attempt at 100 kg in clean & jerk and then improved it to 103 kg before failing at 107 kg in the next two attempts.

Her rivals were nowhere close with Rai managing 95 kg, but failing at 98 kg, which, had it been successful, could have given Rai the gold.

Rai’s attempt in snatch, Kamati’s attempt in clean & jerk and the total were all new records for junior women.

The two Karnataka girls were clearly the pick and with totals of 176 kg by Kamati and 174 kg by Rai, they were way ahead of third place holder Roshni (167 kg), a media release said Monday.

Kamati comes from Halaga near Belgaum. Her tryst with the sport was a case of love at first sight, which happened while taking a stroll in a gym at the Sharda Girls High School back home.

Once hooked, she represented her school at the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA) competitions in Bellari, landing a gold medal in her maiden major tournament.

There was no looking back after that.

Kamati credited her father for encouraging her towards the sport.

“My father plays a very important role in my life. I have his unconditional support and he ensures that there are no hindrances of any kind in my sporting journey,” she was quoted as saying in the release.