Bhubaneswar : Odisha’s ace powerlifter Samarendra Routray got a rousing welcome here on Tuesday after winning overall bronze medal in the 7th Commonwealth Powerlifting and Benchpress Championship at Potchefstroom in South Africa on September 13.
By winning the medal at South Africa, Laban Routray and Sandhyarani Patra’s son Samarendra was got selected for Asian Powerlifting Championship to be held in December 2017.
Samarendra lifted 165kg in squat (bronze), 130 kg in bench press (silver), 215kg in deadlift (silver) and total of 510 kg to claim the bronze medal in the 66kg weight category powerlifting. The gold and silver medals were bagged by the England lifters.
In the benchpress event Samarendra grabbed the gold medal in 66kg men category. Samarendra was got selected for the South Africa meet on the basis of his performance in the Subrat Classic International Powerlifting Championship held at Jamsedpur from December 26 to 30.