From cutting fodder to dramatic finish at CWC 2022, know all about bronze medalist Harjinder Kaur
Chandigarh, August 2: Hailing from Punjab's Mehas village, Harjinder Kaur made the country proud as she bagged a bronze medal in the women's 71kg final after an unexpected turn of events. With this, the 25-year-old weightlifter earned India its seventh medal in weightlifting and ninth overall in the Commonwealth Games 2022.
Living a hard life in Mehas village near Nabha, Harjinder's father is a farmer who does not have the financial means to support her career. Her family lived in a one-room house, owned six buffaloes and worked on contracted fields. However, her strong arms which she developed by cutting fodder have made her a national champion.
Interestingly, her first love was Kabaddi, a popular sport in the Punjabi hinterlands. First Kabaddi, then tug of war and later weightlifting have helped Harjinder in uplifting her family.
Harjinder entered the world of sports after joining the college in Anandpur Sahib. Her coach Surinder Singh made her play for the college Kabaddi team and a year later she joined the sports wing at Punjabi University.
She began weightlifting for the first time in 2016 when coach Paramjeet Sharma spotted her talent.
Also Read | CWG 2022: Indian weightlifter Harjinder Kaur wins bronze medal in Women's 71kg final
The bronze medalist says that her coach Paramjeet Sharma was very supportive and had faith that she would win a medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Harjinder's dramatic finish at CWG 2022
Harjinder was all but out of the running for the podium until Nigeria's Joy Ogbonne Eze botched all three of her Clean & Jerk efforts, giving the Indian weightlifter the chance to finish in the top three.
She had three attempts for the snatch round and three attempts for the clean and jerk round. Kaur failed to lift 90 kg on her first attempt in the snatch round. She lifted 90 kg on her second attempt and 93 kg on her third. She advanced to the clean and jerk round after scoring 93 in the snatch rounds.
Kaur lifted 113 kg on her first attempt, 116 kg on her second attempt, and 119 kg on her final attempt to score 119 in the clean and jerk round. The weightlifter finished with a total of 212 points, with a snatch score of 93 and a clean and jerk score of 119.
Harjinder came in two points behind silver medalist Alexis Ashworth from Canada and Gold medalist Sarah Davies from England as she snagged a score of 229.
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-PTC News
