Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Majhi on Tuesday mourned the death of Arjuna awardee weightlifter Bijay Kumar Satpathy.
“I am deeply saddened to learn about the demise of Arjuna Award winner and renowned sportsman Vijay Kumar Satpathy. I pray that Lord Jagannath grants peace to the departed soul and provides strength to his family to bear this sorrow,” the CM posted on X.
Satpathy breathed his last at 8.40 pm at his residence in Berhampur on Monday due to old-age related ailment. He was 73.
In his condolence message, Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj said that he won medals in weightlifting, bringing pride and glory to Odisha. “His passing has left an irreplaceable void in the state’s sports arena. I pray for the eternal peace of the departed soul and extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family,” he added.
A five-time national champion in weightlifting from 1977-78 and 1982-83, Satpathy represented the Indian Navy and Indian Railways. He had set benchmarks in the 59 kg and 56 kg categories, lifting up to 147 kg in clean and jerk and 110 kg in snatch.
The native of Somnath Nagar near Aska Road in Berhampur bagged the gold medal at the Mini Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia in 1981, and silver in bantamweight category with a total lift of 227.5 kg at the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia in 1982. He also won one bronze each in Nagoya (1981) and Damascus (1983) Asian Weightlifting Championships and secured gold medal in Pakistan National Games at Peshawar in 1982.
Satpathy received the Arjuna Award and Rs 5,000 from President Giani Zail Singh in New Delhi on August 19, 1982. He was honoured with 7th OSJA Lifetime Achievement Award on January 17, 2014.
In August this year, he was conferred with the Biju Patnaik Sports Award 2024 for lifetime achievement and contribution to sports.
Satpathy had joined the Indian Navy as a Leading Electrical Mechanic Power (LEMP), under sports quota in 1974 and continued in the job for 10 years. He then joined Indian Railways as a Guard in 1985 and took voluntary retirement from service in 2009.
