Developing a sport, developing a community

P4SS launched the Khel Vikas Inter-Club Tournament in the first week of July with an aim to develop the sport of weightlifting and build confidence of young weightlifters in the Ganjam region of Odisha. The tournament has been designed to provide young lifters an opportunity to compete and learn from their senior peers.

The tournament is inspired by the theme of learn to train, learn to compete.  The tournament is spread over three days, with each club involved hosting a one-day event to complete in this three-leg competition. The tournament uses a non-classical format of competition, so there are no weight categories as each weightlifter is assessed on lifting Ibs for Ibs against all others in the competition.

The community
Ganjam region and the province of Odisha has a rich history of weightlifting, producing many national and international level athletes. There have been two major clubs producing sporting talent throughout these years, Beer Hanuman club and Sports Hostel Berhampur. The Khel Vikas weightlifting academy is striving to join these clubs in the pursuit to develop and nurture the young talent.

Through the tournament, all of these sporting centres will come together to show the upcoming youth that there is a community within the sport. Even though weightlifting is an individual sport, the message we are trying to send is success of an athlete and of the sport is only through the camaraderie of community.

The first competition day
The first event took place in the Khel Vikas Weightlifting Academy. The day brought excitement and inspiring stories. In total, 16 athletes competed in both male and female categories. Ten out of the 32 lifters completed all six lifts, a great achievement for first-time competitors and five youth hit their new personal records.

What really made the day was the turn out from supporters and their encouragement for this sporting community throughout the day. The second and third leg of the competition will be taking place during the first and third weeks of August.

Outcome
Buoyed by the success stories coming out from the first event and coverage provided by local media, national retail chain “V2” has come forward to lend support for the tournament by helping provide prizes.

[This article was edited by the Operating Team]