Here is how inadequate infrastructure facilities made Gururaja Poojary a medal-hungry weightlifter

South First spoke to Poojary about his experience at this year’s CWG, his journey so far, and his goals.

Boon in disguise

Poojary’s journey from Vandse village in Karnataka’s Udupi district to the podium at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022 in Birmingham also reflects the inadequate sporting infrastructure in educational institutions that shuns talents in South India.

Gururaja Poojary (right) at the 2022 CWG

For Poojary — and India — the lack of adequate infrastructure was a boon in disguise. The athlete had dabbled in several other sports before shifting to weightlifting. In college, he had focused on wrestling.

“The college did not have any facilities such as a coach or even a mat for wrestling. But then I met a coach who introduced me to weightlifting. It had good facilities and a practice regime”, Poojary said.

The shift paid off. Poojari is now a proud weightlifter with two CWG medals in his kitty. The pugilist-turned-weightlifter had earlier won a silver at the 2018 CWG held at Gold Coast, Australia.

Determined to excel

Sports was a necessity for Poojari, who loved physical activities since childhood. He was an active kabaddi player in school.

“I come from a poor family. Sports helped me get a complete fee waiver in college”, Poojary, who started his sports journey with wrestling, said.

But after joining Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara (SDM) College in Ujire, Poojary left wrestling.

He picked up weightlifting after trying his luck in pole vault and long-distance running.

Gold hopes dashed

India won a total of 15 medals in weightlifting — eight men and seven women — at the CWG, Birmingham.

Poojary was the only athlete from the southern states to win a medal in weightlifting. He pulled a combined lift of 269 kg (118 kg in snatch and 151 kg in clean and jerk) to ensure India’s second medal in the games.

Gururaja Poojary at the 2018 CWG

“India had not won a medal in CWG in the 61 kg weight category since 2006. So, I had that challenge before me and I wanted to end that medal drought”, Poojary said with a big smile. 

Before Poojary, Arun Murugesan had won a silver medal at Melbourne, 2006.

Poojary was confident of a big win at Birmingham, but a bout of fever dashed his hopes. “I was totally fit until I was down with fever”, he said.

“I then had to mentally prepare myself. Even bronze was a tough fight with an English athlete challenging me. If my combined lift is compared to the previous time, I would have won gold”, he added.

Poojary’s inspiration is Turkey’s Halil Mutlu, who had won five consecutive Olympic weightlifting golds.

Dedicated to sports

The weightlifter grabbed headlines after he dedicated the Birmingham medal to his wife Soujanya.

“I left for the national camp just 15-20 days after our wedding and was away for a year. After returning in August, we had a huge celebration. My wife and I visited a few temples too”, he said.

Gururaja Poojary with PM Modi

A fan of South Indian action movies, he recalled some of his recent favourites, such as KGF Chapter 2 and RRR. “Allu Arjun is my favourite hero”, Poojary noted.

He joined Indian Air Force in 2015. He is now a Junior Warrant Officer at the Air Force station in Chandigarh. He was also part of the Indian National Camp held ahead of the 2016 South Asian Games.

“I was surprised on receiving the call for Indian camp as I had won only a bronze medal in the previous nationals”, Poojary, also a mountain lover, recalled.

In his debut year (2016), Poojary won back-to-back gold medals in the South Asian Games at Guwahati as well as Commonwealth Championships in Malaysia.

Wanted: Better facilities

Karnam Malleswari from the undivided Andhra Pradesh was the first Indian weightlifter to win an Olympic medal. Her medal — a bronze — was the only medal India won in  Sydney, 2000.

Gururaja Poojary with Indian weightlifting contingent

The South Indian states, however, failed to capitalise on the hype Malleswari’s win had created as sports took a backseat.

“Weighlifting does not have adequate facilities in South India like in other parts of India. Job opportunities, too, are limited in the south. Infrastructure needs to be developed like in the north and northeast”, Poojary said.

The IAF man hoped that South Indian states will have better gyms, more coaches, better equipment and sporting gear so that more youngsters could take up the sport.

He added that young athletes should think about the benefits before picking up weightlifting. He, however, urged the youth to take up weightlifting to win medals for the country.

“Once they reach the winning stage, job opportunities will follow”, he assured, while warning athletes against taking illegal shortcuts like doping.

Poojary has now his eyes locked on the gold at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games scheduled for September and October.