New Delhi: The XIV National Para Powerlifitng Championships (14th March – 15th March 2015) at the JLN Stadium Complex that were conducted by the Paralympic Committee of India were successfully concluded on Sunday evening. 
 
Cricket legend Kapil Dev, especially came down to Delhi on the last day of the Championships to motivate the para athletes. On being asked about para sports, Mr. Dev said that, “Each one of us should come forward and encourage our para athletes. The para sports should not only be shown by Doordarshan, but other popular private networks must also come forward to cover events like these to show how good our para sportspersons are”. His presence brought huge cheer in the hearts of all the participants and spectators.
    

Kapil Dev (third from left) with Rajinder Singh Rahelu - bronze medalist in 2004 Athens Olympics and silver medalist 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games (fourth from left) and other participants.  

   
Over a course of two days, a total of 101 para powerlifters, both male and female, participated in the Championships representing 18 State Federations from all over India. The temperatures inside the weightlifting auditorium kept soaring with some real power-packed performances by the para athletes. 

In the women’s championship, Maharashtra easily outperformed the other states by clinching 4 out of a total of 6 medals in 5 weight category events. Ms. Manpreet Kaur (Maharashtra) in the 50 kgs weight category set a new national record by lifting 67 kgs against the previously held record of 60 kgs in these games. 

The men’s championship on the other hand, consisted of events in 10 weight categories ranging from 49 kgs to 107 kgs and beyond. Mr. Arun Kumar (Uttar Pradesh) broke the previous record of 152.5 kgs and set a new meet record of 155 kgs in the 107 kgs & above weight category. Punjab secured the top position in the men’s category by winning 10 out of 28 medals in the championship.

In addition to this, Ability Unlimited, a highly renowned India-based group for persons with disabilities put up a spectacular cultural performance on the opening day of the championships.  The performances by wheelchair-bound and hearing impaired artists celebrated the concept of ‘ability in diversity’. ‘Rising Star Disabled Youth Club’ joined in the celebrations and lifted everyone’s spirits with their up-beat bhangra act.

The championships showcased the sheer grit, determination and hard work of our para athletes and concluded successfully.

Result Table

Women’s Championship

Men’s Championship