Haryana's Pardeep Joon and Delhi's Sahista won the gold medals in their respective men's and women's powerlifting competitions at the Khelo India Para Games on Wednesday.
Over the course of the three days of competitions, the powerlifting event saw four national records being set by Jaspreet Kaur (45 kg), Manish Kumar (54 kg), Seema Rani (61 kg), and Jhandu Kumar (72 kg).
As many as 170 gold medals have already been decided with Haryana leading the charts, having bagged 31 gold. Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh followed with 26 and 22 medals, respectively.
Pradeep, who had won gold in the first edition of the KIPG in December 2023, lifted 194 kg in 107+ kg category to win his second yellow metal.
Hailing from a middle class family, Pardeep began his powerlifting journey in 2021 and worked hard to clinch a gold in the National Games and Khelo India Para Games 2023.
"I was working in a farm when I got injured which resulted in nerve damage. Due to not being able to get proper treatment, my leg had to be amputated. I was depressed for six months after my injury," Pradeep said.
However, Pardeep's family and friend Jaideep supported him in the difficult times. Jaideep introduced him to powerlifting and trained him, motivating the 31-year-old to come out of his depression and gain recognition in sports.
Other than Pardeep, Delhi's Sahista also shone bright on the concluding day of the powerlifting competition as she converted her last edition's silver medal to gold this year by lifting 81 kg in the 79 kg category.
When she was a child, an injection caused infection which led to a permanent damage to her knee.
Speaking about her shift to sports, the 25-year-old Sahista said, "Over time, I accepted it. I initially wanted to build biceps, but discovered para powerlifting, which became my goal."
"After winning gold at the Nationals in Greater Noida, securing gold at Khelo India feels like a big point in my journey. Now, I am aiming to become a Paralympian."
The men's 107 kg saw Maharashtra's Dinesh Bagade, who had won a bronze in the last edition, bag the gold medal after lifting 157 kg. Tamil Nadu's Arunmoli Arunagiri also grabbed a gold medal in the women's 86 kg category after recording a lift of 80 kg.
Meanwhile, at Indira Gandhi Stadium, the para table tennis competitions entered its business end.
Haryana's Ekta Bhyan secured gold in the Class 1 and 2 categories after she beat Deepika Ranj Ramanathan of Tamil Nadu 3-2 in a tough final on Tuesday night.
Ekta has previously represented India at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics in the club throw event and is also a bronze medallist at the Asian Para Games in club throw.
The 39-year-old Ekta transitioned to table tennis two years ago after club throw was not included as a discipline in Paris 2024. Despite being a hard switch, Ekta feels she is moving in the right direction with the sport.
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