Khelo India Para Games 2025: Punjab's Jaspreet Kaur breaks powerlifting national record; TN keep lead

New Delhi [India], March 23 (ANI): The fourth day of the second edition of the Khelo India Para Games saw Punjab's powerlifter Jaspreet Kaur grab the headlines. Jaspreet became the first athlete in KIPG 2025 to break a national record. In the 45 kg category, the 31-year-old lifted 101 kg to claim the gold medal at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium complex on Sunday, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) said in a release.
At the time of writing, 113 gold medals had been decided with Tamil Nadu leading the charts with 22 golds. Haryana stood second with 18 gold medals while Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan followed with 13 gold medals each.
Jaspreet broke her own national record of 100kg to set a new benchmark at the Khelo India Games 2025. In December 2023, she had also won the gold medal in the same event, with the heaviest lift of 85kg. "But I wanted to do perform even better this time around. Shattering a national record has also helped me climb up the national rankings," Jaspreet Kaur told SAI Media.
Lifting 16kg more in less than two years was no easy feat. Jaspreet went through intense training, researched various new techniques, and made changes to her diet to retain fitness. The biggest challenge to overcome was dealing with anxiety issues.
"I made my debut in 2022 where at the nationals. So, I always felt I was quite new to the sport. It took me a while to realise that to develop strength and muscle, it would take time. It does not happen overnight. It took me three years to deliver such performances," Jaspreet, who had polio since the age of 3, further said.
At the other end of JLN Stadium, the archery events came to a conclusion with star para archer Sheetal Devi going past rival Payal Nag from Odisha to win the gold medal in the compound women's open category in a closely-contested final. The 44-year-old para archer Adil Mohammed Nazir Ansari from Maharashtra, who had won the gold medal in the Khelo India Para Games in December 2023, once again won the gold medal in the W1 round men's event, defying his age.
At Karni Singh Shooting Range, Sumedha Pathak from Uttar Pradesh caused a major upset in the women's 10m air pistol SH1 category. She defeated the 2024 Paralympics medallist and tournament favourite Rubina Francis to claim the gold medal.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra's Sagar Balasaheb Katale also claimed the top prize in the MIXED 10m air rifle Prone SH2 category, defeating Tokyo 2020 Paralympian Swaroop Mahavir Unhalkar, who settled for silver. (ANI)