The fifth day of the Khelo India Para Games 2025 witnessed two more national records in powerlifting. Punjab’s Seema Rani registered a record lift of 97 kg in the women’s elite 61 kg category, while Jhandu Kumar of Bihar lifted 206 kg in the men’s elite 72 kg category.
Paralympians dominated the events at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range. Paris 2024 bronze medallist Mona Agarwal clinched gold in the Mixed 50m Prone SH1 event with a score of 243.3. She had already secured two silver medals in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 and the mixed 10m air rifle prone SH2 categories, according to a release.
On the penultimate day of para shooting, Rajasthan’s Nihal Singh, who has also qualified for the Paris Paralympics, showcased his dominance in the mixed 25m pistol SH1 event, successfully defending his gold medal from the first edition of the Khelo India Para Games held in December 2023.
At the time of writing, 160 medals had been awarded, with Haryana leading the medal standings with 29 golds. Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan followed closely with 24 and 22 gold medals, respectively.
Powerlifters have been in exceptional form since Sunday. After two national records were set by Punjab’s Jaspreet Kaur (45 kg class) and Haryana’s Manish Sharma (54 kg class), Jalandhar’s Seema Rani, who has had polio since the age of three, lived up to expectations by winning her second consecutive gold medal in the Khelo India Para Games. The 39-year-old Seema began her para powerlifting journey five years ago and has since represented India in several international tournaments, including the World Championships.
Seema told SAI Media, “It feels great to set a new national record and win gold medals in back-to-back Khelo India Para Games. I thank SAI for making world-class arrangements for athletes because, without them, it is difficult to focus and compete well.”
Hailing from Bihar, Jhandu Kumar started his powerlifting journey in 2014. The 28-year-old para-lifter has yet to make his debut for India but hopes to do so soon. “Khelo India Para Games is a great platform for para-athletes. I had won silver earlier in 2023. It feels great to have converted that silver into gold now,” he said.
(ANI)
