Know how Indian Army has helped India shine at CWG 2022 with gold-medal performances

India’s medal tally at the ongoing Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games reached six on Sunday night, as the Indian contingent ended Day 3 with a total of three gold medals, two silver medals, and a bronze medal. Interestingly all of the medals so far have come for India in weightlifting.

While Tokyo Olympic 2020 silver medallist Mirabai Chanu opened India’s tally of gold medals with a 1st place finish in the women’s 49kg category final, youngsters Jeremy Lalrinnunga and Achinta Sheuli clinched gold medals in the 67 kg and 73 kg category, respectively. 

Know about Jeremy Lalrinnunga and Achinta Sheuli's connection with the Indian Army

It is pertinent to mention that both Jeremy and Achinta are associated with the Indian territorial army as Jeremy is a Naib Subedar with the 17 Guards Rifle Division, while Achinta is a Havildar with the Corps of Signals. It is worth mentioning that the incredible achievement by both youngsters was possible because of the government’s ‘Mission Olympics’ programme. Under this, the Indian Army established the Mission Olympics Wing and has also created several Mission Olympic Nodes. 

Suitable sports facilities have been created under the Mission Olympic Wing Nodes, which proves that the availability of State of Art infrastructure, clubbed with qualified national and international coaches can give athletes a chance to perform their best in their respective fields. Meanwhile, the Long Term Athletes Development (LTAD) Programme, Sports Science facilities, and the robust Psychological Strengthening Programme are also key factors behind India’s recent surge in bringing laurels in sports to the nation. 

Achinta Sheuli was recruited as a direct Recruit Havildar at Army Sports Institute

Havildar Achinta Sheuli is a 20-year-old weightlifter from Deulpur in West Bengal, who set a Games record at the CWG 2022 with a lift of 313 kg during his pursuit of the gold medal. After getting identified for his skills in sports in his initial days, Achinta was recruited as a direct Recruit Havildar at Army Sports Institute. He is a silver medal winner at the  2021 Junior World Weightlifting Championships and is also a two-time Commonwealth Championships Gold medallist. 

Jeremy Lalninnrunga had enrolled in the Boys Sports Company at Army Sports Institute

On the other hand, Jeremy Lalninnrunga is a 19-year-old weightlifter from Aizawl, Mizoram, who also had a similar journey to Achinta. He enrolled in the Boys Sports Company at Army Sports Institute, earlier in his career after getting noticed for his skills. He has previously won the gold medal at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics with a lift of 174 kg and later won the silver at the Asian Weightlifting championship in 2019. He set a Games record with a total lift of 300 kg during the final on Sunday and claimed the gold.

Indian Army and Indian Air Force lead wishes for Jeremy Lalrinnunga & Achinta Sheuli

While the entire nation erupted with celebrations for the historic win by Jeremy Lalrinnunga and Achinta Sheuli at the CWG debut, the official Twitter handles of the Indian Army and Indian Air Force also shed their views on the same. "#IndianArmy congratulates Havildar Achinta Sheuli on winning #GoldMedal in #Weightlifting by lifting a total of 313 kg (GR) in Men's 73 kg Finals at #CommonwealthGames2022 (sic)," the Indian Army wrote. Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force tweeted, "With India's medal tally on Day 3 of Commonwealth Gamess 2022 reaching six, #IAF congratulates Nb Sub Jeremy Lalrinnunga and Hav Achinta Sheuli for their Gold Medal winning performances in Weightlifting (sic)".

(Image: @ddsportschannel/Twitter)