Manipur clinch first wrestling gold as lifting records tumble
GOLD RUSH Loyangamba wins U-17 51kg Greco-roman title but Delhi wrestlers steal show
PUNE:TILL three years back, K Loyangamba Singh had never touched the wrestling mat. Growing up in an orphanage in Imphal, he was more focused on Mukna --a traditional form of wrestling in Manipur generally played on mud or sand.
It was a chance spotting by coach M Muhindro Singh that brought him to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Manipur capital and there has been no looking back. On Wednesday, Loyangamba clinched gold in the U-17 Grecoroman 51kg category defeating Maharashtra’s Dnyaneshwar D Desai. Haryana’s Amandeep Singh and Madhya Pradesh’s Ankit won bronze. For Loyangamba, Wednesday’s gold was another feather in a career that has started to bloom. After winning the U-15 national title in 2018, he won the Asian Championships last year. Despite the success, the Manipur lad remains a quiet character.
“We saw his talent in Mukna, which has a style similar to Greco-roman wrestling. He started training three years back and has made tremendous progress,” Imphal SAI centre coach Y Lukhoi Mangang said. “We are now waiting for the ~5 lakh as part of the Khelo India scheme so that he can train better.”
DELHI DOMINATE
Apart from the lone wrestling medal won by Manipur, Delhi trumped Haryana on Day 1 of the wrestling action, clinching five gold. At the U-17 level, Delhi’s Neeraj (65kg), Ravi (71kg), Vjender (80kg) and Naveen Punia (92kg) clinched the top spot, while Sachin Rana added another gold for Delhi in 60kg category (U-21). For Haryana, only Ravi (60kg) and Pradeep Kumar (55kg) won gold at the U-17 and U-21 level respectively. Punjab’s Honey Pal Singh (67kg, U-21) and Maharashtra’s Pravin Patil (55kg, U-17) were the other gold winners.
NATIONAL RECORD
In weightlifting, several national records were broken with Maharashtra clinching three of the four gold medals on offer.
In the U-21 men’s 55kg category, Maharashtra’s Shubham Kolekar clinched gold with a total lift of 236kg. His clean and jerk effort of 139kg bettered his own national mark of 138kg.
Odisha’s Bhaktaram Desti won gold in the U-17 49kg category with a total lift of 186kg. He bettered his clean and jerk record of 104kg with a lift of 105kg. In the U-17 men’s 55kg category, Maharashtra’s Abhishek Ganesh Mahajan (211) clinched gold. In the only women’s weightlifting event of the day, Maharashtra’s Soumya Dalvi won gold in the 40kg category with record overall lift of 111kg. Her snatch lift of 51kg was also a national record.
“This was a dream of my father who has been training me for a long time. I want to win gold in the Olympics,” said Soumya.
J&K STRIKE GOLD
Bavleen Kaur gave Jammu and Kashmir their first gold as she won the Under-17 all-round rhythmic gymnastics event. She scored 43.40 to top the podium.