Tumbling records validate Khelo India, says Yadav

It is hard to miss the buzz and excitement in the Weightlifting Hall here at the Khelo India Youth Games as records have tumbled like nine pins, and that augurs well as the young lifters have shown a lot of progress in recent times.

The first two days of competition saw a plethora of records, many from the North East weightlifters like Jeremy Lalrinnunga and Jacob Vanlaltluanga.

And Sahadev Yadav, general secretary of the Indian Weightlifting Federation, has been keeping an eagle eye on proceedings.

"Yes, it is very heartening to see so many records being created. (But) those who have created these records will be checked for doping and age records. We will accept these performances only after due verification," Yadav was quoted as saying in a media release.

On the increasing popularity of weightlifting, Yadav said, "We see lots of young boys and girls opting for this sport nowadays.

I would say there has been an increase of 20 to 25 per cent in the number of people joining in the last couple of years and I am sure this trend will continue.