New Delhi: Powerlifters Parmjeet Kumar and Manpreet Kaur put up a strong show as the Indian team opened their campaign with two bronze medals at the Pyeongtaek 2022 Asia Oceania Open Championships on Wednesday. According to information received here, Kumar, who made history winning India's first medal at a World Championships claiming a bronze in Tbilisi 2021, produced a personal best lift of 163kg in his third attempt to take the bronze in Men's Upto 49kg Open final. His earlier personal best was 158kg achieved in Tbilisi 2021.
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The Indian finished behind Jordan's Omar Qarada (175kg) and Vietnam's Le Van Cong (173kg), who took the gold and silver in the Open category. "I am very happy to take the bronze. This is a big morale and confidence boost as I prepare for the Commonwealth Games now. I am targeting a medal at CWG," Kumar, who is a trainee at SAI Gandhinagar, told the Paralympic Committee of India.
Kumar is also keenly looking forward to Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games and qualifying for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Before Kumar's show, Kaur had fetched the Indian contingent with a bronze medal in the Women's Upto 41kg Finals. She lifted 88kg to claim the bronze in Open category, finishing behind Tokyo 2020 Paralympic gold and silver medallists Guo Lingling (111kg) and Ni Nengah Widiasih (99kg).
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Kaur, an Asian Para Games bronze medallist, had also improved her personal best from 81kg (Tbilisi 2021 Worlds) to 88kg in Pyeongtaek 2022. Elated on the team's medal winning start, accompanying coach JP Singh said, "It's a good start for the team. We have more events coming up in the next few days. The expectation is at least 5 medals from the team. Our powerlifters are ready to produce their best and win medals."
