JOIN USYoungest athlete stands the tallest
Multiple phone cameras were on standby as the "star" of the weightlifting event walked in to take her stance behind the 15kg bar with 1 kg plates on either side.
The seven-year-old Sanika S - just about 3 feet and weighing 22 kgs - lifted 17kg in snatch before clearing 21kg in clean & jerk for a total of 38kgs to win a bronze in the girls under 40kg category.
The shortest, lightest and youngest competitor among 124 participants in the weightlifting event of the State Mini Olympics stunned everybody in the room with her technically perfect lifts.
Father and coach, Sudhir Kumar who knows a thing or two about the ups and downs in the sport, watched from the sidelines hoping at the back of his mind that this might be the beginning of his daughter's long journey to the destiny he failed to reach.
Sudhir, from Bhadravathi in Shivamogga district, has won three successive Commonwealth Games bronze medals - in the 69kg category in 2002 Manchester, 2006 Melbourne and 77kg in 2010 New Delhi.
“Honestly we did not expect her to win a medal. This is her first tournament,” said Sudhir, the most successful in a family of weightlifters.
Wife Chandrashori of Manipur was a national medallist in the 58kg category while Sudhir’s father too was a national champion.
Following in the footsteps of her elder brother and State champion Saketh, Sanika, who mostly spends all her evenings hanging around in the gym, took to the sport naturally.
“None of us forced her into it. We live in a joint family with most of our lives dedicated to the sport. Maybe she was meant to continue the tradition too,” he added.
Unlike other sports, people refrain from enrolling kids into weightlifting before a certain age fearing stunted growth or the developing bones/muscles getting affected due to the heavy weights involved.
“They are all mere misconceptions. Hopefully we can change such mindsets to get more youngsters into the sport,” said Sudhir.
In the three-day event at the Sree Kanteerava stadium, there was more celebration in store as his students - Pritham S (boys 49kg) and niece Sinchana A (girls 55kg) - won golds and also picked up the best lifters awards.