Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh-based powerlifter Azad Basfore broke his own record to retain the ‘Strongman of India’ title for the third consecutive year at the National Powerlifting Games 2022.
The event, held at Noida in Uttar Pradesh from November 16 to 22, saw Azad bench press a total of 162.5 kg (unequipped) to set a new national record under the World Powerlifting Congress (WPC) India.
He had earlier hit 158 kg (unequipped) in the bench press.
Azad, a powerlifting coach by profession, also managed to win a gold medal in the 75 kg bodyweight senior category.
Besides Azad, the Arunachalee powerlifting team also shined at the National Powerlifting Games as they managed to bag a total of 23 medals for the state in various categories of the competition.
The junior category saw Deke Kaha win 4 gold medals, Padi Tayo 3 gold and 1 bronze, Taje Mosu 2 gold and 2 silver, Rige Kaye 1 gold and 2 silver and Kaling Yao win 1 silver medal in the games.
Meta Linggi and Anurag Bharali won a gold and silver medal each in the competition.
The shining star of the event for Arunachal was Donik Rimon who won 1 gold and 1 silver medal in the teen category.
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