For a man who couldn't get a hang of how to lift the bar for the longest time, weightlifter P Gururaja said he hasn't done too badly for himself as he reflected on the silver around his neck that opened India's medal account in the 21st Commonwealth Games on Thursday, 5 April. Gururaja came second in the Men’s 56kg Weightlifting event.
The 25-year-old, hailing from a small village in Karnataka, could hardly stop smiling as he soaked in the attention that came with being the ceremonial account-opener at the quadrennial event.
The moment didn't come easy, as his first two attempts at clean and jerk had been declared invalid and he was under tremendous pressure in the final attempt.
After I failed the first two attempts, my coach reminded me how much my life depends on this. I remembered my family and my country.Gururaja
Gururaja equalled his personal best of 249kg (111kg+138kg) to finish second.
When I started in 2010, in the first month of my training, I was so frustrated because I didn’t even know how to lift a bar. It was too heavy for me.
That is hardly something an aspiring weightlifter would complain of, only that Gururaja aspired to be a wrestler, inspired by a certain Sushil Kumar.
"I remember I had seen Sushil Kumar wrestle in the 2010 CWG, I was just starting weightlifting at that time. When I saw him I really wanted to take up wrestling. Then I met my coach Rajendra Prasad who taught me weightlifting," he said, adding:
I was trying to be a 42kg category wrestler and it (weightlifting) seemed impossible to me. Eventually I got a hang of it.
Follow live updates from CWG Day 1 here.
An employee of the Indian Air Force, Gururaja has seen all the proverbial hardships of life that athletes from humble backgrounds endure in India. Having watched his truck driver father slog hard to raise eight children, Gururaja is determined to give his family a good life.
My family was on my mind when I failed the two attempts in clean and jerk, it meant a lot to me.
Asked whether he would still be interested in giving wrestling a shot, Gururaja broke into a laughter.
"I still enjoy wrestling, I still love the sport a lot. I will prepare for the Olympics, I have got a lot of support from the national federation and everyone who has been part of my journey. All my coaches have shaped me," he said.
Malaysia's three-time Commonwealth Championships medallist Muhammad Izhar Ahmed (117+144) broke the Games record for snatch and overall lift while Sri Lanka’s Lakmal Chaturanga took the third position (114+134).
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)