Muthupandi Raja of Indian Railways set new national records at the National Weightlifting Championships in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh on Sunday.
Raja, who won the gold medal with a total lift of 279kg in the previous edition of the Championships, improved his tally by 10 kg at the ongoing National Championships.
Raja set three national records by lifting 289kg, the new national record in the 61kg category. His lift of 124kg in the snatch category and 165 in the clean and jerk section are also new national records.
It must be noted the Paris Olympics bronze medallist Hampton Morris finished on the podium with a total lift of 298kg.
Raja, who finished fourth at the Commonwealth Games in 2018, clinched the gold medal at the 2019 and 2022 National Championships.
Earlier, Gyaneshwari Yadav lifted a total of 186kg to win the elite women’s 49kg title in the National weightlifting championships here on Tuesday.
Sufna Jasmin also set new snatch and total records to claim the women’s 45kg crown.
Meanwhile, Odisha weightlifters continue to shine at the event, with Mina Santa clinching two gold medals in the Girls’ 55 Kg Youth and Junior categories. Sneha Soren won a silver medal in the overall category. She also won a gold medal in the Inter-State Women’s 55kg senior category.
On the other hand, Sadananda Bariha bagged the bronze medal by lifting a total of 249 Kg in the Boys’ 61 Kg Youth category at the IWLF National Weightlifting Championship 2024-25.