Commonwealth Games
"Achinta would cry for meat, but we could not afford it," says weightlifter's mother
"Meat was something my son would cry for, but we could not afford it," weightlifter Achinta Sheuli's mother said.
Achinta Sheuli, on Sunday, bagged the men's 73kg weightlifting gold at the ongoing 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. The 20-year-old lifted a record total of 313kg to be crowned the champion.
Speaking to The Bridge, Achinta's mother Purnima Sheuli, recalled their struggles after the weightlifters' father passed away when he was just a kid.
"If one day he (Achinta) had rice on his plate, then he would not have any vegetables with it," she said.
She further recalled how she could not provide her son with meat - something which is a must in a weightlifter's diet.
"Some days it would be eggs, while meat was something my son would cry for, but we could not afford it," Purnima said.
Achinta Sheuli shot to fame in 2019 when he won gold in the Commonwealth Championships - a title which he would go on to defend in 2021 before winning the 2022 Commonwealth Games. He also bagged silver medal in the Junior World Championships in 2021.
