Weightlifter Jyoshna rises from poverty in remote Odisha village to shatter national record

CHENNAI: A few months ago, Commonwealth Games gold medallist weightlifter K Ravi Kumar was supposed to reach Jyoshna Sabar’s village around 11am. But it was evening then and he had still not been able to find his way through this mountainous, forested region of Odisha near the Andhra border. The road wasn’t exactly motorable either.

Fortunately, he spotted a man who turned out to be Jyoshna’s grandfather, and the old man guided them to Jyoshna’s home in Gajapati district’s Pekata, a village so remote that the nearest bus stop is a few hours by foot.

The 15-year old daughter of a small-time farmer father and homemaker mother has risen from this impoverished background to become one of India’s leading junior weightlifters. After winning bronze at the World Youth Championships in Albania last year, she shattered the national snatch record on her way to the gold medal in the 40kg category at the 6th Khelo India Youth Games in Chennai.

Jyoshna lifted a total of 130 kgs, including 60 kg in Snatch (a new national record) and 70 kg in Clean and Jerk.

The target was to go after all three records – Snatch, Clean and Jerk and total. “Unfortunately, she failed an attempt in jerk, otherwise we would have broken jerk and total too. She is upset and repeatedly saying that she has not been able to achieve her target,” said coach Ravi.

The shy Jyoshna is still opening up to a world that she had no idea about. “She is from a very humble and remote background. Only in the last few months has she begun to know more about the world, when she travelled for the World Championships. She does not speak much. We treat her like a delicate flower, because if you say anything to her, she gets scared,” said coach Ravi.

Jyoshna’s parents have become used to her winning medals, scholarships and incentives, but aren’t familiar at all with her sport. “Even after their daughter won a medal at the World Championships, they don’t have much idea about weightlifting. But they are proud of their daughter,” said coach Ravi.

Jyoshna’s talent was spotted by coach Ramesh Chandra Pandhi at the NGO-run Gram Vikas School, Kankia, a residential facility for underprivileged children about 90km from Pekata. She was then selected for the Tenvic High Performance Centre, Bhubaneswar, where she studies in tenth grade at the Kalinga Institute. Back in Pekata and Kankia, she has become a big inspiration for numerous children.