Maharashtra's Asmita Dattatray Dhone produced a stunning performance at the Khelo India Youth Games, breaking two youth national records en route to gold in the girls’ 49kg weightlifting category at the Rajgir Sports Complex. (More Sports News)
The 18-year-old from Karad in Satara district first rewrote her own clean and jerk record by lifting 95kg, then pushed it further to 97kg, taking her overall total to 170kg, an eight-kilo improvement over her previous best at the Commonwealth Championships in Doha.
Her earlier national record stood at 162kg. With the dominant performance, she improved her clean and jerk and overall total marks.
Silver went to Uttar Pradesh라이브 바카라 Mansi Chamunda, who set a new youth national snatch record (75kg), finishing with a total of 163kg. The bronze went to another strong contender, but Dhone's feat remained the highlight of the day.
Coming from a modest background, her father drives an autorickshaw and her mother manages a small dairy farm, Asmita began training under coach Samrat Pawar in Karad at the age of 14. “My sister was into weightlifting, and I followed her to the gym. Samrat sir encouraged me to lift, and now here I am, setting national records,” she told Media.
A gold medallist at last year라이브 바카라 World Youth Championships in Fiji and a regular podium finisher at national and international events, Asmita is now based at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala, training under the Khelo India scheme since 2023. She receives a monthly stipend and full support for equipment, travel, and training through the programme.
“Her technical prowess in clean and jerk is exceptional,” said coach Pawar. “If she polishes her snatch, she’ll be a serious medal contender at the global level.”
Asmita now has her sights firmly set on the World Junior Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo, China, next year. Before that, she will appear in selection trials following the Commonwealth Youth and Junior Championships in Ahmedabad this August.
