BERHAMPUR: Local favourite Tikina Gopal bagged the first gold medal for hosts Odisha in women’s 53kg weight class of the 64th Men and 27th Women Senior National Weightlifting Championship, here at the Berhampur Stadium on Sunday.
Experienced Tikina lifted 77kg in snatch and 95kg in clean and jerk for a total of 172kg. M Santoshi (AP) and Swati Singh (RSPB) claimed the silver and bronze respectively. This was an emotional home-coming for Tikina, who started her career as a teenager at the State Government-run Gold-Digging Sports Hostel in Bbhubaneswar 15 years ago before becoming an international.
Now married and having a baby girl, Tikina has been honing her skill in Delhi as an employee of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). “I am extremely happy for winning a gold for my home state and native town after so many years. I love my state and weightlifting very much. Winning the gold at home town has come as a memorable gift for me,’’ said Tikina. Minati Sethi, Odisha’s another international women lifter, also secured a gold in the 58kg category, lifting 81kg in snatch, 107kg in clean and jerk for a total of 188kg. But the gold went to the Railways, where Minati joined recently.
Men: 62kg: 1. Rustam Sarang (Chhatishgarh) 116+147= 263kg, 2. K Ramesh Kumar (SSCB) 110+147=257kg, 3. D Senthamizh Selval (RSPB) 113+143= 256kg. Inter-state: 1. Rustam Sarang, 2. Gaurav Seth (WB) 114+142= 256kg, 3. V Ramesh Kumar (Goa) 115+137= 252kg.
Women: 53kg: 1. Tikina Gopal (Odisha) 77+95= 172kg, 2. M Santoshi (AP) 75+94= 169kg, 3. Swati Singh (RSPB) 77+92= 169kg. 58kg: 1. Minati Sethi (RSPB) 81+107= 188kg, 2. Meena Kumari (Chandigarh) 78+102= 180kg, 3. M Sumanbala Devi (Manipur).