Meena Kumari (weightlifter)

Meena Kumari (born 15 August 1989) is an Indian weightlifter and appointed to the post of Inspector in Punjabi Police, who placed fifth in the women's 58 kg weight class at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.[1][2][3]

Meena Kumari
Meena Kumari showing face
Personal information
NationalityIndian
Born (1989-08-15) 15 August 1989 (age 35)
Punjab, India
Height1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) (2014)
Weight58 kg (128 lb) (2014)
Sport
Country India
SportWeightlifting
Event58 kg
Achievements and titles
Highest world rankingSnatch 90kg Clean&jerk 125kg

Career

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Police service

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Kumari joined the Punjab police as a constable after attending college.[4] By 2016, she was appointed to the post of Inspector in Punjabi Police.[5]

Sports career

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Kumari was previously a mountaineer and skydiver. She was selected for the 2007-8 National Cadet Corps expedition to Everest, though she did not participate.[4]

Kumari took up weightlifting in 2008 when she attended college at the encouragement of her uncle, who himself participated. After joining the police she was coached by police weightlifter Saranjeet Kundan and sponsored by legislator Pawan Kumar Tinu. She won the gold medal in women's weightlifting in the 63 kg category at the All-India Police Games in December 2013, her third consecutive gold medal at these games. She lifted 110 kg in clean and jerk, two kilos better than her gold in the 58 kg category the previous year.[4]

At the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July 2014, Kumari came fifth in the 58 kg category, lifting a total of 194 kg,[6] 83 kg in snatch and 111 kg in clean and jerk.[7]

In May 2016 at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Kumari successfully appealed a three-year ban imposed by the Indian Weightlifting Federation in November 2014 for unspecified alleged behaviour in training and at the Commonwealth Games but was later proved non guilty and ban was lifted.[5]

In 2017, Kumari took part in the Senior National Powerlifting Championship in Kerala and won a silver medal in the deadlift and bronze in the squat, and came third in the 63 kg category.[8]

Personal life

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Kumari is from Jattewali village in Adampur, Punjab, where her father is a tailor. She has three older brothers.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Profile at 2014 CWG official website". Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  2. ^ "Results of 58 kg weightlifting in 2014 CWG". Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  3. ^ "Meena Kumari the Indian weightlifter comes 5th in women's 58 kg misses bronze at 2014 Commonwealth Games". News Wala. Archived from the original on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d Bhalla, Sanjeev (19 December 2013). "Thrilled by the weight of expectations". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  5. ^ a b Sharma, Surender (20 May 2016). "HC sets aside three-year ban on Punjab weightlifter". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  6. ^ "Indian lifter Meena Kumar stands 5th in women's 58 kg bronze at CWG 2014". Indo-Asian News Service. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Weightlifting: Women's 58kg results". BBC Sport. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  8. ^ "Punjab cops notch 57 medals in Police Games". The Tribune. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
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