BHUBANESWAR 23-Mar-2012 227
Woman weightlifters of Odisha once again made the state proud with three of them winning nine medals in the inaugural South Asian Weightlifting Championship at Nepalgunj in Nepal today. The medals included eight gold and one silver.
Among the trio, Tikina Gopal of Berhampur and Minati Sethy of Puri won three gold medals each in 53kg and 58kg categories respectively. Sita Jena from Berhampur grabbed two gold (clean & jerk and overall) and one silver (snatch) in 63kg weight class.
Tikina, who is working for Industrial Security Force in Delhi, lifted 65kg in snatch, 85kg in clean and jerk for a total of 150kg. Minati, en employee of Indian Railway, lifted 70kg in snatch, 92kg in clean and jerk for a total of 162kg. Hard-working Sita, who is still unemployed despite being a National champion, lifted 69kg in snatch, 102kg in clean and jerk for a total of 171kg.
All three woman have been selected to represent the country in the 24th Women and 43rd Men Senior Asian Weightlifting to be held at Pyeongteak (Korea) from April 22 to 30. Odisha`s Commonwealth Games gold medallist K Ravi Kumar has also been included in the 15-member Indian squad for the Asian championship.
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PHOTO: Medal winning Odisha woman lifters (Left to right) Tikina Gopal, Sita Jena and Minathi Sethi.
