Harshada Sharad Garud made history as India's first gold medalist in weightlifting at the IWF Junior World Championships in Heraklion, Greece.
Harshada, 18, won the gold medal in the women's 45kg category with a total effort of 153kg (70kg+83kg), opening India's account on the first day of competition.
Harshada took first place in the snatch with a 70kg effort and second place in the clean and jerk with an 85kg effort, finishing behind Turkey's Bektas Cansu (85kg), who won silver with a combined effort of 150kg (65kg+85kg).
Harshada said, "I am so happy, I can't comprehend what's happening, I am struggling to express my happiness right now. It will take some time to sink in.”
The teen, who won the under-17 girls' title at the 2020 Khelo India Youth Games, began weightlifting at the age of 12 on the guidance of her father, Sharad Garud, who was a state-level weightlifter.
She added, “My father was a state level weightlifter. Although I never saw him in action, I always heard his stories and stories about him. I never thought of doing anything else”.
Harshada, along with the rest of the Indian contingent for the junior world championship, trained for a month at Patiala's Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports (NIS).
Senior weightlifters, including Olympic silver medalist Mirabai Chanu, met and interacted with the youngsters.
Harshada, a first-year Bachelor of Arts student at Savitribai Phule Pune University, expressed her thoughts, “We got to speak to all the seniors. I talked to Mira didi, asked her about her journey. It was great,”
Harshada was the only lifter in the eight-lifter field in Greece to complete clean lifts in all six tries, making her the only one to do so in the sport's superpower China, which won eight medals, including seven golds, at last year's Tokyo Olympics.
With a weight of 149kg (67kg+82kg), Hincu Teodora-Luminita of Moldova took bronze in the non-Olympic division.
The other Indian competitor, Anjali Patel, finished sixth overall with a combined effort of 148kg (67kg+81kg). In continental and world championships, medals are awarded individually for snatch, clean and jerk, and total lift. In the Olympics, however, only one medal is awarded - for total lift.
Other Indians who have won medals at the junior world event include Mirabai and Jhilli Dalabehera, who won bronze in the 2013 and 2018 editions, respectively, and Achinta Sheuli, who won silver last year.
