Tuticorin boy fights back from injuries to win 61kg gold in Nationals
CHENNAI: From contemplating quitting weightlifting due to persistent health problems to breaking national records, Muthupandi Raja has come a long way. The 24-year-old, representing Railways, breached the national record (NR) en route to winning the men's 61 kg gold at the National Championships in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday.
With a total lift of 289kg (snatch 124kg and clean & jerk 165kg), Raja took the top spot and surpassed the NR-mark by 10kg.
"My target was to register 290kg, but I missed out by a small margin. I was not just focussed on winning gold. I wanted to record a lift which will be competitive at the international level. The progress has been good and I am expecting to reach the 300kg target soon," Raja told TOI.
Hailing from Tuticorin, Raja had a good start to his career as he qualified for the Commonwealth Games in 2018 at a young age. Although he finished sixth, he gained a lot of experience. While his career was on an upward trajectory, Raja got injured in the Commonwealth Championships in 2019 and it took him a long time to get back on the mat.
"I had a surgery but could not do my rehab properly due to Covid-19. I could not take part in any competitions for close to two years. I had to leave the national camp midway and look for a private physio to get my rehab done completely. Two months later, I became 100 per cent fit and started competing," Raja, who has been supported by GoSports Foundation from 2018 through Longterm Athlete Development Programme, said.
While Raja was slowly getting back on track, a few health issues halted his progress. He was diagnosed with jaundice in August 2022 and later had to undergo an appendicitis surgery. Due to these, Raja did not train for close to 10 months. Frustrated with the prolonged period on the sidelines, he gave quitting the sport a thought and explored joining studies related to it.
"I completed a course on strength and conditioning (level 1) at the Kalinga University in Odisha and did a three-month internship. One of my seniors, Sidiq, who was working there, told me to join the course and said that this (course) will help me in my career. I did not have any knowledge of sports science before joining the course. But now, I have clarity about what needs to be done in training and how to prevent injuries. The course has been helpful in understanding at what intensity I must train and helps me read my body," Raja added.
During the internship period, Raja developed an interest in weightlifting again. He started training again with the support of Sidiq. "I did not have confidence that I could do well after all the struggles I had gone through. But after the course I somehow started training again. Sidiq pushed me to focus on training and the journey started once again."
Within one year of his return, Raja has stamped his authority. If he registers 300kg and above, Raja can be a force to be reckoned with in global events.
