Harjinder Kaur hadn't lifted a barbell in her life till she was 20. In fact, she didn't know what weightlifting is until coach Paramjit Sharma at the Punjabi University in Patiala introduced her to the sport. Until then, Harjinder had only thought about making a career in kabaddi as a raider.
On Monday night, the Patiala girl rode her luck in her debut CWG to secure a bronze in the women's 71kg with a total lift of 212 (93 snatch+119 clean and jerk). What stood out for Harjinder was the fact that she was participating in only her second major international competition in the seniors category after her silver at the Commonwealth Championships in 2021.
Harjinder started her campaign with a failed lift of 90kg in snatch. But she recovered to lift her personal best of 90kg in the second, only to better it to 93kg in her final attempt. In the clean and jerk, she had lifts of 113kg, 116kg and 119kg to challenge Australian Kiana Elliot for the bronze. But with Canadian Alexis Ashworth closing in, the fight had become a three-way contest.
However, Joy Eze from Nigeria failed all her three lifts in the clean and jerk. This assured Harjinder of a podium finish.
