VIZIANAGARAM: The young daughters of a daily wage labourer couple from a tiny village in Vizianagaram district have achieved remarkable success in weightlifting by clinching gold medals at the Commonwealth Youth & Junior Weightlifting Championship 2026 held in Samoa in the South Pacific Ocean. Bellana Harika, 19, clinched gold in the Junior category, lifting a combined total of 197 kg with 86 kg in snatch and 111 kg in clean and jerk.
Her younger sister Bellana Bhargavi, 17, won gold in the Youth category and silver in the Junior category, lifting a combined total of 180 kg with 78 kg in snatch and 102 kg in clean and jerk.
Overcoming poverty and challenging circumstances, the duo has been living their father’s dream of becoming weightlifters under the guidance and training of their maternal uncle and Commonwealth Games medalist Valluri Srinivasa Rao.
Bellana Srinu of Kondavelagada village in Nellimarla mandal in Vizianagaram district has been passionate about Sangidi Rallu, a famous rural weightlifting sport in North Andhra, since childhood. He participated in several Sangidi competitions in the early 1990s. However, his family’s financial status did not allow him to pursue state-level weightlifting competitions or higher education. Therefore, he turned to agricultural labour after completing SSC to support his family.
He married Gowri and had two daughters, Harika and Bhargavi. He then decided to fulfil his dream through his daughters and make them world-class weightlifters despite his financial constraints. He sent Harika and Bhargavi to his brother-in-law and Commonwealth Games medalist Valluri Srinivasa Rao for training at the age of eight. Srinu and his wife, Gowri, still take up daily wage labour and MGNREGS works in their village to provide nutritious food for their daughters. Recognising their father’s passion, Harika and Bhargavi have excelled on various national and international platforms with dedication, hard work and passion for weightlifting despite their family’s financial status.
Bellana Harika won gold and bronze in the Youth category at the Asian Youth & Junior Weightlifting Championship 2023 held in Delhi and gold at the Commonwealth Senior, Youth & Junior Weightlifting Championship 2023 held in Greater Noida. She secured second place in the Youth category at the IWLF National Senior Weightlifting Championship 2022-23 and third place at the Khelo India Youth Games 2022-2023. Harika stood first in the Youth category and third in the Junior and Senior categories at the Asmita Khelo India Women’s Weightlifting 2023 and third at the Khelo India Youth Games 2024, besides winning several medals in state-level competitions.
Similarly, Bellana Bhargavi won gold at the Commonwealth Youth Weightlifting Championship 2024 held in Suva, Fiji. She also won two silver medals at the IWLF National Youth Weightlifting Championship 2023 and 2024. Now, Harika has won gold and Bhargavi has won gold and silver at the Commonwealth Youth & Junior Weightlifting Championship 2026 held in Samoa from April 27 to 30.
Speaking to TNIE, weightlifter siblings Harika and Bhargavi said, “We entered weightlifting to fulfil our father Srinu’s dream of bringing laurels to our village on international platforms. We won gold medals at the Commonwealth Youth & Junior Weightlifting Championship 2026 in Samoa with the support of our coach Valluri Srinivasa Rao. Representing India and winning medals for the nation at the upcoming Commonwealth Games and Olympics is our dream. Our father is our biggest inspiration for hard work and commitment towards our goals, and our maternal uncle is our inspiration to become international weightlifters despite our poor financial status.”
The sisters' father, Srinu, said, “I am very passionate about weightlifting. However, my family’s financial status did not support me in becoming a weightlifter. I decided to fulfil my dream through my children, irrespective of their gender. Therefore, I sent my daughters for weightlifting training since childhood. I felt happy after knowing that the duo clinched gold medals at the recent Commonwealth Youth & Junior Weightlifting Championship 2026. I have been providing nutritious food to them by doing agricultural labour, and MGNREGS works in our village. However, this is not sufficient for them to excel in weightlifting on international platforms. I appeal to the government to help my daughters with weightlifting training and other necessities.”