Odisha Lifters Jyoshna, Mina Win Commonwealth Gold

Bhubaneswar: Odisha women international lifters Mina Santa and Jyoshna Sabar have made India and their home state Odisha proud again, bagging a total of four medals, including three gold on the opening day of the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Suva, Fiji, on Tuesday.

Jyoshna won one the gold in the youth women 40kg weight class with a total lift of 123 kg, which featured 58kg in snatch and 65kg in clean & jerk. This was the seventh international medal for the tribal girl from Gajapati district, who had also secured gold at the previous Commonwealth Championship in Noida, Uttar Pradesh last year.

Mina achieved her career-best success with two gold and one silver in the 55kg weight category. She lifted 81kg in snatch and 99kg clean & jerk for a total of 180kg, which fetched her one gold each in youth and junior categories and one silver in senior group. This was the second international medal for the tribal lifter from Nabarangpur, who had also secured her maiden medal with a gold in the Commonwealth Championship last year.

Both Mina and Jyoshna are trainees of the Odisha-Tenvic Weightlifting High Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar and studying Plus-Two Arts at Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneswar. The duo attended National Camp at SAI NSNIS, Patiala before leaving for Fiji.

Over 200 lifters from 25 countries are participating in the Commonwealth Championship, which is set to conclude on September 21. Two male lifters from Odisha would also represent India in this five-day championship. They are: Hrudananda Das (81kg) and Swayamjit Prasad Sahu (73kg).

Odisha Weightlifting Association president Chitta Ranjan Swain and secretary K Ravi Kumar congratulated Mina and Jyoshna for their splendid performances at the Commonwealth Championship. They also extended their best wishes to Hrudananda and Swayamjit.