IRS officer Ekta Bishnoi clinches three gold medals at World Masters Classic Powerlifting C'ship

Reno (US), October 18 (IANS) Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Ekta Bishnoi has etched her name in the record books by clinching three gold medals at the World Masters Classic Powerlifting Championship in the United States.Ekta lifted a total weight of 362.5 kg, outperforming formidable competitors from Japan and Canada to claim the top honour. This is the first time an Indian female powerlifter has secured a gold medal in the Masters-2 category of this championship.Ekta is balancing her high-stakes governmental responsibilities as an IRS officer while maintaining a rigorous powerlifting training regimen. Adding to the hurdles, just ahead of the tournament, Indian team coach Sunil Kumar faced a setback when his U.S. visa was denied.However, refusing to back down, Ekta adapted dynamically, taking guidance from coach Sunil via video calls and with on-ground support from team official Binu Ibrahim, she executed her strategic game plan to script history.Shedding light on the tactical triumph, coach Sunil shared that they adopted a scientific and result-oriented coaching approach."Our strategy was crystal clear," Kumar said. "By the conclusion of the squat event, we had already built a decisive 20 kg lead over our closest rival. Ekta successfully maintained this crucial lead through the bench press event. Finally, with a successful opening deadlift of 150 kg, Ekta sealed the historic gold medal for India."Ekta trains under the supervision of coach Sunil at the Netaji Gym in New Delhi. Reflecting on Ekta's victory, her partner Ajay Tomar (Acharyaji) noted, “Prior to the World Championship, our preparation was absolute and thorough. We shared a single-minded goal: to win the gold medal for our motherland, India.”