Lifting Expectations

Hailing from Mizoram, Jeremy Lalrinnunga is the new rising star in the field of weightlifting

Manjum Mahanta

In the last few years, more and more youth from the region have been able to make a name for themselves in different sports. One name that has recently been in the news quite often is Jeremy Lalrinnunga. The Mizoram lifter earned a spot at the prestigious Youth Olympics because of his quality performance at World Youth Weightlifting Championships. In the trials, Jeremy managed to lift a total weight of 273 kg. He went on to become the first Indian to win gold at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018.

Then, last April, at the Asian Championships, Jeremy broke 15 records including three world youth and three senior national marks. If you thought that was amazing, there’s more! The young weightlifter did even better at Qatar in December. He broke 27 records– three youth world, three Asian youth and six Commonwealth—on the way to reach his personal best of 306 kg (140+166).

Jeremy was born in the Mizoram’s capital city of Aizawl to Lalneihtluanga and Lalmuanpuii Lalrinnunga. It is not surprising to learn that his father, Lalneihtluanga, was a renowned boxing prodigy of his time. The young athlete is currently gearing up for the next Asian Games.

Tell us how and when you started weightlifting

I started training for weightlifting when I was seven years old. My father himself was a boxer and was a State-level player. He took me to local boxing clubs in Aizawl to watch the matches when I was small. And that was how I came across weightlifting. Over time, I became attracted to the sport and thought of giving it a try.