Eyes on the goal

Manita Shrestha won the gold medal during the First Inter Club National Weightlifting Championship recently held at the Sports Hive in Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur. Among the participants for the championship were people from the army, police and civilians, all with a common goal of performing well – which in turn qualifies a handful of them for the upcoming Asian Games and South Asian Games.

In weight lifting, there are two competition lifts: the snatch and the clean and jerk. Snatch is a one-move lift where the lifters hand grip the weight in a wide stance. Clean and jerk is a two-move lift where the hand placement is relatively close. The lifters are judged in their body weight category that is again different for males and females. Shrestha bagged the gold medal in the 63 kg category.

Although the lifters start extensive training to hone their skills from about three weeks before the competition date, Shrestha could not part take in it this time because of her back injuries. But that did not faze her in the slightest as she has previously been a part of the national weightlifting team for countless international competitions.

“We don’t ever stop training to be honest. We are training throughout the year, keeping our bodies and strength in check,” says Shrestha adding that it was perhaps that discipline and dedication that made it possible for her bag gold in this tournament despite not having undergone rigorous training especially for it.

Shrestha joined the weight lifting scene about four years ago due to her own curiosity and fascination of the sport. Since then, she has won numerous awards for it including the first position in both the fourth and fifth Grand Prix, second place during the National Games held in Purwanchal, fourth position during the 12th South Asian Games and first place during the Sunil Lal Joshi Memorial game.

The physical strength she gains during the training period is Shrestha’s favorite aspect of weightlifting. “I was not really a physically strong person before starting weightlifting but now I have gained so much strength. I don’t even feel like the same person anymore” says Shrestha about her transformation through weight lifting. She is so involved and enamored with it that she does not even think twice before replying with a ‘no’ when asked if she can name a downside to weightlifting.

Shrestha names her coach, Kamal Bahadur Adhikari, as her prime motivator and source of inspiration. Her family is also pretty supportive of her career and participation in weight lifting competitions. Her sister, Manjari, was present throughout the multiple days of the event (First Inter Club National Weightlifting Championship) and even volunteered for it so she could keep coming back to support her younger sister.

Shrestha says she has never been more focused that she is now. And all that is because she plans on winning the gold medal for her country during the upcoming South Asian Games, if she is selected for it. So, she is training for about five days a week and is following a strict diet plan to keep her body in its best form so that she is able to perform well. “I’m going to leave no stone unturned and give this sport everything I have got,” she concludes.