At the World Youth Championships in Lima, Peru, Bedabrat Bharali made history as the first male lifter from India to win a gold medal. He achieved a total weight of 296 kg (136 kg in snatch and 160 kg in clean and jerk), finishing 12 kg ahead of his competitors. This was an improvement of 29 kg from his third-place finish in the 67 kg category the previous year.
At the Patiala selection trials on May 20, the 17-year-old set a new national record with a snatch lift of 136 kg, breaking his previous record of 133 kg.
The last notable achievement in the tournament’s history for Indian male weightlifters was in 2016, when Jeremy Lalrinnunga and Muthupandi Raja won silver and bronze in the 56 kg weight class. This gold medal is the first for an Indian male weightlifter in this competition.