How the daughter of an electrician realised his sporting dream with a CWG medal

5 min readChandigarhUpdated: Jul 27, 2026 09:29 PM IST India's Gyaneshwari Yadav clinches a silver medal in the women’s 53kg weightlifting final at the 23rd Commonwealth Games, in Glasgow, Scotland, Monday, July 27, 2026. She totalled 199kg (88kg snatch + 111kg clean and jerk). (PTI Photo) When she was 13, Gyaneshwari Yadav was taken by her father Deepak to a local gymnasium where she was introduced to powerlifting. Recognising her potential within a year, he would approach weightlifting coach Ajay Lohar Vishvkarma as the gym got a makeshift hall to train in the sport. The coach recalls the potential he saw in the youngster, who impressed him immediately with her power.“On the first day of dry lifting, she lifted a 15kg wooden plank with ease and I could sense that she would be a good weig