CWG silver translates for some more farmland for lifter Harjinder Kaur’s family
They had got a new house and land after bronze at Birmingham 2022, and latest achievement could provide further material boost
Some more farmland.
That was the thought that came to Harjinder Kaur‘s mind immediately after she won the Commonwealth Games silver medal in the women’s 69kg weightlifting event.
The medal was an improvement on the one the girl from Punjab had clinched in the 71kg category at the previous edition in Birmingham. Since then, her marginal farming family had moved to a new house and bought some farmland in their village, and Harjinder’s father Sahib Singh may interpret her latest achievement in terms of what it could provide the family materially.
“We had marginal farmland and the income was augmented by selling milk from the six buffaloes we owned. The bronze medal won in Birmingham landed me a job as an income tax inspector, apart from cash awards. I wanted to upgrade my medal here and now I will get some more farmland for my father,” Harjinder told The Indian Express from Glasgow.
Harjinder lifted a total of 227 kg – 101kg in snatch and 126kg in clean and jerk – to finish behind Canadian Charlotte Simoneau (240kg —108kg and 132kg).
With the family owning six buffaloes, Harjinder got plenty of milk and home-made paneer. She would often help her father operate the chaff-cutting machine, and the strong physique came handy when Harjinder started playing kabaddi at Government Girls School at Nabha, where she would commute daily by bicycle.
She was then selected to play for Punjabi University, Patiala where 1990 Commonwealth Games weightlifting champion and coach Paramjit Sharma took her under his wings.
“She was healthy and I knew I could groom her into a good weightlifter. I put her initially in tug of war teams before starting weightlifting training. Her mother sold her jewellery and the family took loans to support her training, which made Harjinder determined to excel in her sport,” he told The Indian Express.
It was in 2019 that brother Pritpal Singh got a contractual job in the PWD department and with Harjinder too getting a scholarship from Punjabi University, the family’s financial situation improved and she could focus solely on weightlifting.
Last year, Harjinder suffered a wrist injury while a back problem that she suffered in 2019 also aggravated. She moved to the 69kg class and won the bronze at the Commonwealth Championship in Ahmedabad with a mark of 222kg.
Despite winning her second successive CWG medal on Tuesday, Harjinder knows she has work to do in the coming years.
“I have had some issues in my clean and jerk technique, and have been working on them for a few years. (National coach) Vijay Sharma sir has been working on getting some technical flaws rectified and the aim is to improve further,” she said.
Meanwhile, mother Kuldeep knows what Harjinder would demand when she gets home from Glasgow.
“She always asks me to cook vegetables like pumpkin, which she doesn’t get to eat at hostels or abroad.”
Some more farmland.
That was the thought that came to Harjinder Kaur‘s mind immediately after she won the Commonwealth Games silver medal in the women’s 69kg weightlifting event.
The medal was an improvement on the one the girl from Punjab had clinched in the 71kg category at the previous edition in Birmingham. Since then, her marginal farming family had moved to a new house and bought some farmland in their village, and Harjinder’s father Sahib Singh may interpret her latest achievement in terms of what it could provide the family materially.
“We had marginal farmland and the income was augmented by selling milk from the six buffaloes we owned. The bronze medal won in Birmingham landed me a job as an income tax inspector, apart from cash awards. I wanted to upgrade my medal here and now I will get some more farmland for my father,” Harjinder told The Indian Express from Glasgow.
Harjinder lifted a total of 227 kg – 101kg in snatch and 126kg in clean and jerk – to finish behind Canadian Charlotte Simoneau (240kg —108kg and 132kg).
With the family owning six buffaloes, Harjinder got plenty of milk and home-made paneer. She would often help her father operate the chaff-cutting machine, and the strong physique came handy when Harjinder started playing kabaddi at Government Girls School at Nabha, where she would commute daily by bicycle.
She was then selected to play for Punjabi University, Patiala where 1990 Commonwealth Games weightlifting champion and coach Paramjit Sharma took her under his wings.
“She was healthy and I knew I could groom her into a good weightlifter. I put her initially in tug of war teams before starting weightlifting training. Her mother sold her jewellery and the family took loans to support her training, which made Harjinder determined to excel in her sport,” he told The Indian Express.
It was in 2019 that brother Pritpal Singh got a contractual job in the PWD department and with Harjinder too getting a scholarship from Punjabi University, the family’s financial situation improved and she could focus solely on weightlifting.
Last year, Harjinder suffered a wrist injury while a back problem that she suffered in 2019 also aggravated. She moved to the 69kg class and won the bronze at the Commonwealth Championship in Ahmedabad with a mark of 222kg.
Despite winning her second successive CWG medal on Tuesday, Harjinder knows she has work to do in the coming years.
“I have had some issues in my clean and jerk technique, and have been working on them for a few years. (National coach) Vijay Sharma sir has been working on getting some technical flaws rectified and the aim is to improve further,” she said.
Meanwhile, mother Kuldeep knows what Harjinder would demand when she gets home from Glasgow.
“She always asks me to cook vegetables like pumpkin, which she doesn’t get to eat at hostels or abroad.”
