Books to barbells, IITians work out the physics of weightlifting

Varun Bairaboina landed his batch’s first campus placement this year. But he was thrilled for a different reason — the 105 kg he lifted in “clean and jerk”. “I started with aerobics during my first year at IIT, but was soon fascinated by seniors lifting weights. I’ve trained three hours every evening, and I’m proud of these sore hands,” said the 22-year-old, showing the calluses on his palms and the cuts just around his knees.

Students entering the IITs are expected to pick a sport in their first compulsory year of National Sports Organisation. Institute coaches stake out those who drift towards the hostel gyms and linger longer on the weights. Once smitten, these potential lifters sweep the internet for all sorts of information, and never stop asking questions.

“Our job is to not overload them, because they have enough study pressure,” said IIT-Delhi coach Surinderkumar Bakshi. “But these boys go to crazy lengths to find material on the why and how of weightlifting.”

To offset the geeky image, IITians are known to scribble something witty on the backs of their vests. But on Monday, Gagandeep Singh, who lifted 188 kg to win the 77 kg category, had a special vest printed with three names — Dmitry Klokov, Ilya Ilyin and Pyrrios Dimas, legendary Olympic lifters whose videos he watches obsessively.

A third year student of integrated chemistry at IIT-Roorkee, Gagandeep is hoping to pursue a PhD — “something in inorganic chemistry”. But he often wonders whether he should take up lifting professionally. “I’ll miss an exam, but not training,” he said, pointing at his vest that read “Strong is Happy”.

While some campuses like IIT-Delhi see a Rs 30 spike in dietary allowance in the run-up to competitions each year, the gyms across IITs see frenzied activity as the contestants bend over bench presses rather than books.

It’s an odd sight — the square-rimmed spectacles lending the young boys’ faces a sombre respectability, and the Spandex and waist belts determinedly pointing to a different activity.

The usual trappings of a national weightlifting event are all there — a referee, an announcer and some others wearing Superman T-shirts. But when the faces behind the spectacles contort under the weight of steel, you overhear lines like: “Two inches higher and his centre of gravity would have been perfect”, or “For his BMI, he can lift 5 kg more.”

“Weightlifting is all about trajectory in a straight line,” said Rakesh Kumar, a fourth year IIT-Mumbai contestant. He’s egged on from the sidelines by alumni Satadru, a software engineer at Amazon, and Srikanth, a structural engineer, who have flown down from Bangalore and Malaysia for the event.

“Even now, five years after passing out, we work out instead of spending Fridays and Saturdays in a bar with friends,” said Satadru. “We also drink once in a while, but this passion for weightlifting is the best takeaway from IIT. Media reports make it seem as if JEE is the pinnacle of our lives. This is not true,” he said.

Suraj Sahoo is the strongest man at the IITs this year, winning the over-77 kg by lifting 216 kg — his personal best. When he first came to Powai from Orissa, he was wheezing from asthma. “I managed good grades in chemistry, but I’d just be so unwell always that marks meant nothing. Then I started training and felt much better. My parents don’t ask me about my marks. They are happy something’s keeping me healthy,” he said. “It’s so good to not struggle to breathe. And they say IIT is the biggest challenge of life,” he said.