BHUBANESWAR 17-Mar-2013 226
Khurda District Weightlifting Association and Utkal Karate School today felicitated Odisha woman lifter Kiran Kumari Digal for winning three bronze medals in the 13th Asian Youth Weightlifting Championship held at Pattaya in Thailand 18 months ago (Sept 5 to 12, 2011).
It was a case of `late than never’ for Kiran, who originally finished fourth in the 63kg category of the continental championship, lifting 55kg in snatch and 67kg in clean and jerk for a total of 122kg. But in January this year, she came to know that Kazakstan’s Madina Tashkenbayeva, who grabbed the gold, was found guilty in the dope test and that the bronze medals would be awarded to her.
``I got the news of my elevation to the third position during the junior National championship at Delhi in January this year. Odisha Weightlifting Association secretary Narayan Sahu brought the medals from Delhi and handed over to me during the PYKKA Rural National Sports Meet here at Kalinga Stadium in the third week of February,’’ revealed Kiran, who hails from Raikia in Kandhamal district.
A product of Government Sports Hostel here, 18-year-old Kiran said the medals had boosted her confidence and encouraged her to pursue the iron sport with more zeal and dedication. Meanwhile, she has chosen to quit sports hostel, the weightlifting section of which was shifted to Berhampur, and return to Bhubaneswar, where she lives with her parents and pursues graduation in arts in Dev Ray College.
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PHOTO: Kiran Digal (R) with KDWA secretary Chitta Ranjan Swain in Bhubaneswar on March 17, 2013.
