In Birmingham, a Punjab tailor’s son does some heavy lifting to sew up a victory saga

As a baby, Lovepreet Singh would usually spend time watching his father Kirpal Singh sew garments in his store exterior their two-room village house. Her would additionally hearken to tales of national-level weightlifter Heera Singh, who additionally hailed from their village Bal Sikandar.

On Tuesday afternoon, the 24-year-old did his village proud when he gained the Commonwealth Games bronze medal within the 109kg class. He lifted a complete of 355 kg with a nationwide report of 163 kg in snatch and 192 kg in clear and jerk. Cameroon’s Junior Periclex gained the gold with a complete raise of 361 kg whereas Jack Opeloge of Samoa gained the silver with a complete raise of 358 kg.

“Jad chhota bachcha si tan bapu ji kapde stitch karan ch busy rehende si te gal karan da time nahi si. Aaj medal jeetya hai te bapu ji da phone busy a raheya hai (When I was a kid, I would wait to talk with my father amid his busy schedule at the tailoring shop and today, I am waiting to talk with him but his phone is busy). To win my first Commonwealth Games medal here is my gift to all the hard work done by my family,” Singh stated from Birmingham.

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Singh, who began weightlifting on the age of 13, would initially practise weightlifting with the village youth on the Government faculty within the village earlier than shifting his coaching to DAV School, Amritsar. The teenager would change into a junior nationwide and youth nationwide medallist in 2016 earlier than profitable a bronze on the Asian Youth Championships. He would subsequently change into the Junior Commonwealth Champion within the 105 kg class. Last yr, Singh gained the silver medal with a complete raise of 332 kg within the Senior Nationals at Patiala earlier than a bronze with a complete raise of 348 kg within the Commonwealth Championships in Tashkent.

During the lockdown in 2020, Singh spent the longest time at his village since changing into a petty officer within the Indian Navy. “When Lovepreet showed his desire to become a weightlifter, I did not hesitate for a second to allow him. Even though I used to earn Rs 10,000 to 15,000 per month, I always tried to provide the best for Lovepreet. He would cycle to his Amritsar school and would then go to his training. Most of my customers came today to congratulate me and we made sure that all had sweets today,” stated Kirpal.

On Wednesday, when Australian Jackson George didn’t raise a clear and jerk weight of 211 kg to surpass Singh’s whole, the Indian celebrated. “While I made a new national record in snatch, I like clean and jerk the most. Coach Vijay Sharma sir patted me and I see it as my reward,” stated Singh.