"Bulking Up?" "Not a problem," says Bindyarani Devi after gold at National Games

Gandhinagar: Bindyarani Devi shot to fame when she clinched an unexpected silver medal for India at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games in women's 55kg weightlifting a couple of months ago.

The 23-year-old went one better during the ongoing National Games here winning a gold medal, albeit in a different category.

As the weightlifting programme for the 2024 Paris Olympics witnessed a complete overhaul, Bindyarani's weight category of 55kg was discarded. The Manipuri lass was hence forced to bulk up to 59kg.

While a drastic change in weight division like this would have threatened to put any athlete off track, it was not a big deal for Bindyarani Devi, who already seems to be settling in her new category.

"No, I did not face any problems in bulking up and training in 59kg," she told The Bridge after winning the gold medal.

"I had to make a few dietary changes, but it was all good," she added.

The bronze medal in 59kg at the 2022 Commonwealth Games went at a total lift of 197kg. Bindyarani, meanwhile, won the gold medal today at 194kg with just a month and a half of training.

Competing alongside the Commonwealth medallist in the 59kg today was a dear friend Popy Hazarika.

Hazarika was leading the field after the snatch round, but a brilliant 111kg from Bindyarani in clean and jerk meant that the Assam girl had to settle for silver.

"Popy and I are good friends. It was good to compete with her in 59kg today and even defeat her," Bindyarani joked.

The women's 59kg at the National Games was indeed a tight affair, with the difference between gold and bronze being just 2kgs.

While Bindyarani won the gold with a lift of 194kg, Popy Hazarika took home the silver at 193kg, and Punjab's Davinder Kaur settled for bronze at 192kg.