Odisha lifter Hrudananda Das paid a heart-warming tribute to hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand on the National Sports Day by securing the silver medal in junior men 88kg weight class of the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships at the Naranpura Sports Complex in Ahmedabad (Gujarat) today.

Hrudanand lifted 139kg in snatch and 178kg in clean & jerk for a total of 317kg. This is the third successive time that the 18-year-old lifter from Dhenkanal won a medal in the Commonwealth Championship. He bagged one gold and one silver at the previous two Commonwealth Championships, held in Greater Noida (India) and Suva (Fiji) respectively.

The silver by Hrudanand, who trains at the Dhenkanal Sub-Centre of Odisha-TENVIC  Weightlifting HPC, under the guidance of coach Gopal Krushna Das, was the fifth medal contributed to the Indian tally by lifters from Odisha. Other four medals featured three gold and one silver.

Earlier, Preetismita Bhoi and her elder sister Bidusmita Bhoi (both from Dhenkanal Sub-Centre) captured one gold each, while Mina Santa-A and Sneha Soren (both from Bhubaneswar HPC) claimed one gold and one silver respectively.

The Bhoi sisters were the cynosure of all eyes at the Commonwealth Championship, setting a total of four new championship records. Preetismita broke three records in the youth women 44kg category, while Bidusmita erased one in junior women 63kg weight class.

Among the six Odisha lifters, who represented India, five won gold or silver, while Tiki Mohini Mallik finished fifth in the youth women 63kg category. Office-bearers of Odisha Weightlifting Association (OWA), headed by president Chitta Ranjan Swain, congratulated medal winners and wished them greater laurels in the future.
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PHOTO: Odisha lifter Hrudananda Das poses with his silver medal at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship in Ahmedabad on 29 August 2025.