Kajol Sargar, the daughter of a tea stallvendor, had no connection to sport until three years ago, when she used to go to a local gym every day to see her older brother Sanket practise as a weightlifter
The 16-year-old from Sangli, Maharashtra, watched in fascination as he progressively progressed through the ranks to become one of India's top weightlifters, but it wasn't enough to get her to join the sport.
All of that changed in 2019, when she saw Sangli's Rupa Hangandi win the gold medal at the Khelo India Youth Games in Pune.
"My older brother is more than five years my senior.
I have never discussed sports with him before "After winning the first gold medal at the Khelo India Youth Games 2021 on Sunday, Kajol Sargar stated.
"I was only inspired to start weightlifting after hearing about Rupa Hangandi's accomplishment at the Khelo India Youth Games," she explained.
Kajol, who now trains under Mayur Sinhasane, won the women's 40kg category with a total lift of 113 kg, kicking off Maharashtra's march to the top of the medal table.
In her third effort, Kajol only achieved 50kg in the snatch, falling behind Assam's Rekhamoni Gogoi, who lifted two kilogrammes more in the clean and jerk.
However, she jumped to the top of the podium by lifting 60kg and 63kg in the clean and jerk.
Rekhamoni (109 kg; 52 kg snatch, 57 kg clean and jerk) finished third, while Sandiya Gungli of Arunachal Pradesh took silver with a total of 111 kg (47kg snatch, 63kg clean and jerk).
Kajol won a bronze medal at the Youth Nationals in Patiala in August 2021, but a wrist injury prompted her to reassess her goals for the year.
"During training, I was injured while attempting to lift 70 kilogrammes.
I was out of commission for more than two months, missing the Nationals in Bhubaneswar in March.
This distinction marks a significant turning point in my three-year journey, and it would be an honour to get it.
© Copyright 2020, All Rights Reserved
Powered by Basharat Hosein
