Rajgir: Assam’s Aisengfa Gogoi clinched the 55kg weightlifting gold with an overall lift of 183kg in the ongoing Khelo India Youth Games at the Rajgir Sports Complex here on Sunday. The 17-year-old, who trains at Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) in Lucknow since 2023 under coach Rahul Sharma, shattered the youth national record for overall lift of 182kg created by Koyel Bar of West Bengal at the 2024 Asian Championships in Doha, Qatar, last December.
Aisengfa, who had missed out on a medal in the Khelo India Youth Games in Chennai last year, began her campaign with a 75kg lift in snatch followed by clean lifts of 79kg and 81kg.
En route, Aisengfa equalled the snatch record of Mina Santa of Odisha at 81kg which she had created at the World Youth Championship in Suva, Fiji, last year. In Rajgir on Sunday, Mina settled for a silver medal with total lift of 177kg (80+97) and Andhra Pradesh’s Hema Sri Karangi took home the bronze medal with overall lift of 164kg (72+92).
A Khelo India athlete since 2023, Aisengfa Gogoi had secured the bronze medal at the IWLF National Weightlifting Championships last year in Nagrota Bagwan, Himachal Pradesh. She had also won a silver in the ASMITA Weightlifting Zonal League in Bhubaneswar last year with total lift of 167kg (73+94).
“This is my first gold in Khelo India, so I want to thank my coach, parents and especially SAI NCOE Lucknow for helping me improve my skills and technique. I have been training at the Lucknow centre since last two years. I am also a Khelo India Athlete (KIA) that offers a monthly stipend of Rs 10,000. Initiatives like Khelo India are very important for athletes like me to assess my performance and compare it with international benchmarks. I ultimately want to represent India in the Olympic Games,” Aisengfa told SAI Media.
Taking cue from her father Deepjyoti Gogoi, who used to practice powerlifting, Aisengfa began lifting weights at the young age of 13 years. Deepjyoti runs a small tent house business in her hometown Karulakalia in Sibsagar district of Assam and mother Nabanita is a housewife.
“He didn’t play for the state but used to do powerlifting at home. That prompted me to take up the sport. I always wanted to be strong like him. I didn’t expect to win the medal as I am coming back from a small injury. My target this year is to qualify for the Commonwealth Youth Championships later this year through the selection trials,” she added.
Earlier, Sunil Singh of Punjab clinched the boys 61kg gold by lifting a total of 238kg (108+130), six kilograms higher than his nearest rival Anik Modi of West Bengal (97+135). Tamil Nadu’s Jayanovaraj J. took the bronze with a total lift of 231kg (104+127).
In the boys 67kg, Yash Khandagale of Maharashtra lifted overall 267kg (122+145) to capture the gold medal with a 16kg margin over closest competitor Abhinob Gogoi of Assam (116+135). Haryana’s Samir Khan, another NCOE Lucknow athlete, clinched the bronze medal with total lift of 241kg (109+132).
(IANS)
