Howrah's 17-year-old Koel sets hat-trick of world records, double gold, but meat vendor's daughter remains silent!
Photo BS News Agency.
Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency, Howrah: Howrah's 17-year-old Koel Bar sets three world records. Bengal's Koel wins double gold at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship.
Howrah's 17-year-old daughter Koel Bar sets three world records. Bengal's Koel sets hat-trick of world records at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Koel sets world record in youth weightlifting by lifting a total of 192 kg. He also wins gold. The previous world record in the 53 kg category in youth weightlifting was 188 kg. Koel easily breaks it. Koel lifts 107 kg in the clean and jerk category. The world record in this category was 105 kg. Koel touches the world record in snatch by lifting 85 kg.
Koel, the daughter of a chicken vendor in Howrah, won gold in the youth as well as the junior category. A hat-trick of records, a double gold. Even after that, the silent Koel says, “My goal was to set a world record. During practice, I regularly lifted 107-108 kg. As a result, I was close to the world record. The record would have been broken. I could have lifted 109 kg. But I couldn’t do it for a short while.”
Talking about how this success came about, Koel says, “I started weightlifting in 2018 after seeing my father. My father used to go to the gym regularly. After training with Vijay sir (Vijay Sharma, Koel’s trainer), my performance has improved a lot in the last two years. Earlier, I could lift 147 kg in total. Now I am lifting 192 kg.”
Vijay, who is now the head coach of the Indian team, said, “I have always found Koel to be very physically strong. I was working with several kids with a long-term goal in mind, keeping the Olympics in mind. That’s when Koel caught my eye. First, I emphasized on his technique, leaving aside everything else. The Olympics Gold Quest is very helpful in teaching children how to train scientifically.”
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee congratulated Koel. She wrote on her X handle, “Our Bengali home girl, Koel Bor, a resident of Howrah, has made Bengal proud by winning a hat-trick of world records in the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships held in Ahmedabad. I extend my heartfelt congratulations and love to her.”
Not only Koel, but Anik Modi has also made the state shine. Anik also won gold in the boys’ youth 65 kg category by lifting a total of 238 kg.