Uttarakhand: Weightlifter Jagadish Vishwakarma lifted a total of 345 kg weight in the ongoing edition of the National Games and clinched a gold medal. However, more than winning the gold medal, his act of performing the Nataraja pose after lifting a 193 kg weight grabbed the attention of many. After lifting the weight, he stood on one leg which impressed many.
Jagdish topped the standings while representing services and showed his strength and skill to perform such a feat. Notably, this is not the first time when Jagadish has performed the Nataraja pose. He replicated the same in December 2024 at the National Championships. During the tournament, he broke the national record in the clean-and-jerk category. The unique Nataraja pose which symbolises Lord Shiva's dance form, symbolizes balance, grace, and power.
Is this India's strongest Nataraja pose?
— jonathan selvaraj (@jon_selvaraj) February 2, 2025
Jagdish Vishwakarma of SSCB holds up 193kg on one leg at the National Games! pic.twitter.com/BEavW0LDSL
While Jagdish impressed the audience, Vaishnav Shahji of Maharashtra made headlines by setting a new national record in the snatch by lifting 160 kg. He surpassed his own record in the process.
Around 10,000 athletes are competing across 32 disciplines in the competition which will run till February 14. The events are going to be held across seven cities in the state with Dehradun being the main venue. The athletes will compete for around 450 gold, silver and bronze medals in the tournament.
Services are at the top in the medal tally of the National Games with 33 medals including 17 gold. Karnataka are in the second position with a total of 33 medals including 15 gold. Although Maharashtra have bagged 51 medals so far, they have managed to win 13 gold which has put them in the third position.
