Vyavhare aces shift from yoga to weightlifting

To end a year in which she rewrote her own youth national record multiple times in 40kg, Maharashtra weightlifter Akanksha Vyavhare competed for the first time in the 45kg weight category. After about two weeks of preparing for the shift, the 14-year-old won silver at the youth national championships in Nagercoil in December.

“It was very challenging to change in 15 days," Akanksha said. “I had controlled my weight for 40kg, and then I was told to shift to 45kg. My body was not yet ready for it. Still, I pushed myself thinking that I have to make a mark in my first tournament in the new category.”

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In her second tournament, Akanksha bettered the youth national champion in clinching the 45kg gold at the Khelo India Youth Games in Indore. She lifted a total of 144kg (67kg snatch and 77kg clean & jerk).

The nudge to move up a category came from national coach Vijay Sharma late last year. By then, the girl from Manmad had left a record trail of sorts in 40kg after setting a new national mark at the youth nationals in Bhubaneswar in March. Her silver at the IWF Youth World Championships in Mexico erased the snatch record while the bronze at the Asian Youth Championships in Tashkent bettered the clean & jerk. All three records were rewritten again at the Khelo India Ranking Championship in Modinagar in October.

“We initially felt a little bad when she was asked to shift, because she could have broken more records in 40kg. But she continued to work hard for 45kg and that silver in Nagercoil gave her confidence,” Pravin Vyavahare, her coach and uncle, said.

Daughter of a clerk at the municipal council of Manmad, Akanksha initially competed in yogasana but would also tag along every evening with her uncle who teaches weightlifting for free to kids in Manmad. Unable to progress beyond the state level in yogasana, the kid changed track after winning the U-12 and U-14 gold in the state tournament in Sangli in 2018, her first competitive weightlifting event.

Drafted into the TOPS Development List last year, Akanksha is part of the national camp and also trains at the National Centre of Excellence in Aurangabad.

“Still, whenever she trains in Manmad, she lines up to catch the barbell for the junior kids, as our equipment is very old and we can't afford to throw it," Pravin said. “She is extremely dedicated and down to earth.”

For her training session starting 5am when at home, Akanksha makes it a point to turn up at 4:55am. “There's no point doing anything half-heartedly. Karna hai toh pure dedication aur mehnat se karo,” the class 10 student said.

As natural as that trait comes to her, it’s also something she picked up from meeting Mirabai Chanu, her idol, at the national camp in Patiala after her Tokyo Olympics silver. Akanksha mustered the courage to walk up to her and ask for a photo, only to come back with an enriching chat to go with the snap.

“She told me, ‘Do well at the youth worlds and make India proud’,” Akanksha said. “I got really inspired by her after her Olympic medal. And then when I met her and spoke to her, I thought, bas inke jaisa banna hai (I want to be like her).”

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