KIPG 2025: Jaspreet Kaur breaks powerlifting national record; Sheetal Devi wins archery gold; TN keep lead

IANS March 23, 2025 228 views

The Khelo India Para Games 2025 witnessed an extraordinary performance by powerlifter Jaspreet Kaur, who shattered her own national record by lifting 101 kg in the 45 kg category. Her remarkable journey from struggling with polio to becoming a national record holder highlights incredible human resilience and determination. Alongside Kaur's achievement, other para athletes like Sheetal Devi in archery and Adil Mohammed Nazir Ansari continue to inspire with their exceptional skills. Tamil Nadu currently leads the medal tally, showcasing the growing strength of para sports in India.

"It took me three years to deliver such performances" - Jaspreet Kaur
New Delhi, March 23: With a record-breaking effort, Punjab powerlifter Jaspreet Kaur grabbed the headlines on the fourth day of the second edition of the Khelo India Para Games (KIPG) here on Sunday. Jaspreet became the first athlete in KIPG 2025 to break a national record.

Key Points

1

Jaspreet lifts 101 kg, breaking her previous 100 kg national record

2

Tamil Nadu leads medal tally with 22 golds

3

Sheetal Devi wins archery gold in compound women's category

4

Para athletes showcase remarkable resilience and skill

In the 45 kg category, the 31-year-old lifted 101 kg to claim the gold medal at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium complex on Sunday. At the time of writing, 113 gold medals had been decided with Tamil Nadu leading the chart with 22 gold. Haryana stood second with 18 gold medals while Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan followed with 13 gold medals each.

Jaspreet broke her own national record of 100kg to set a new benchmark at the Khelo India Games 2025. In December 2023, she had also won the gold medal in the same event, with the heaviest lift of 85kg.

"But I wanted to perform even better this time around. Shattering a national record has also helped me climb up the national rankings," she was quoted as saying by SAI Media in a release on Sunday.

Lifting 16kg more in less than two years was no easy feat. Jaspreet went through intense training, researched various new techniques, and made changes to her diet to retain fitness. But the biggest challenge to overcome was dealing with the anxiety issues.

"I made my debut in 2022 at the nationals. So, I always felt I was quite new to the sport. It took me a while to realise that developing strength and muscle, would take time. It does not happen overnight. It took me three years to deliver such performances," Jaspreet, who had polio since the age of 3, further said.

At the other end of JLN Stadium, the archery events came to a conclusion with star para-archer Sheetal Devi going past rival Payal Nag from Odisha to win the gold medal in the compound women's open category in a closely-contested final. The 44-year-old para-archer Adil Mohammed Nazir Ansari from Maharashtra, who had won the gold medal in the Khelo India Para Games in December 2023, once again won the gold medal in the W1 round men's event, defying his age.

At the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, Sumedha Pathak from Uttar Pradesh caused a major upset in the women's 10m air pistol SH1 category as she defeated the 2024 Paralympics medallist and tournament favourite Rubina Francis to claim the gold medal.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra's Sagar Balasaheb Katale also claimed the top prize in the Mixed 10m air rifle Prone SH2 category defeating Tokyo 2020 Paralympian Swaroop Mahavir Unhalkar, who settled for silver.

Tags:
Khelo India Para Games 2025 Jaspreet Kaur Powerlifting Punjab Sports Para Athletes National Record
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