Jeremy Lalrinnunga
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2016: Penang silver> 2018: YOG gold
From: Sabi Hussain, Jeremy Lalrinnunga Totals An Astonishing 274kg To Floor Rivals, October 10, 2018: The Times of India
“The only thing on my mind is a gold medal, nothing else will make me happy. I am going to Argentina with a strong belief that I can win gold. I have been lifting some good weights during the training sessions and there’s this positive energy around me,” 15-year-old weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga had told TOI during the send-off ceremony of the Indian contingent for the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), which is currently underway in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
On Tuesday, Jeremy kept that promise when he became India’s first-ever gold medallist at the YOG after clinching gold in the men’s 62kg weightlifting competition. The Mizoram boy lifted a total of 274kg (124kg snatch & 150kg clean and jerk) to easily beat the rest of the field. The silver went to Turkey’s Toptas Caner, who lifted 263kg (122kg snatch and 141kg clean and jerk), while Colombia’s Villar Estiven settled for bronze with a lift of 260kg (115kg+143kg).
The effort saw Jeremy improve upon his personal best of 273kg (snatch + clean and jerk) achieved during a tournament at the NIS Patiala last month.
According to a coaching staff attached with the senior Indian weightlifting team in Patiala, Jeremy had lifted a total of 251kg earlier this year and has been improving ever since.
In fact, before leaving for Buenos Aires, the Mizoram-born weightlifter had exuded confidence that he would at least lift a total of 263kg (120kg in snatch and 143 in clean and jerk) at the third edition of the multi-sport event in Argentina. He went beyond his own expectations.
What is amazing about Jeremy’s effort is the fact that during the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, senior men’s team weightlifter, Raja Muthupandi, had lifted a total of 266kg (snatch + clean and jerk) to finish sixth in the same weight category. Here, Jeremy, all of 15, lifted an astonishing 274kg in a junior competition (YOG is an under-18 competition), which, incidentally, was also his first appearance at a major multisport event.
Weightlifting wasn’t the original career choice for Jeremy. He was inclined towards boxing during his early school days in Aizawl, as his father, Lalneihtluanga, was a former national boxing champion.
Jeremy used to train at his father’s boxing academy in Aizawl till the age of eight when the academy had to be shut down due to financial reasons.
Jeremy’s father then introduced him to weightlifting and within the next year, he was selected during a talent scouting by the Army Sports Institute (ASI) officials and was inducted into the ASI Pune.
He honed his skills at the ASI, winning medals at both national and international events. Jeremy is presently part of the Indian national camp in Patiala and is training under chief coach Vijay Sharma.
Most recently, he won silver medals in the World youth championship in Penang in 2016 and Bangkok in 2017. He also won medals in Asian youth and junior championships, and Commonwealth youth and junior championships.
Jeremy is a Khelo India School Games (KISG) gold medallist and is part of the government-funded Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme. He’s considered as one of the bright prospects for the 2024 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
