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

It could very well have been in the genes.

Back in the early 2000s, Deepak, an electrician by trade in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon, used to compete in bodybuilding competitions, before family priorities took over. Decades later, his 23-year-old daughter registered a combined lift of 199kg to get on the podium alongside Nigeria’s Onome Omolola Didih (206kg). Gyaneshwari had a best lift of 88kg in snatch before registering 111kg in clean and jerk.

Strength meets success! 💥

Gyaneshwari Yadav smashes her personal best with a total lift of 199kg to bring home 🥈 in the Women’s 53kg Weightlifting event. 🏋️

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“I won titles like Mr Rajnandgaon, Madhya Pradesh Kishore and Chattisgarh Kumar. When Gyaneshwari was born, me and my wife Durga decided that we would make her a sportsperson. When Gyaneshwari won the silver medal today, I could see myself on the podium,” the proud father told The Indian Express.

Gyaneshwari’s journey to the Glasgow medal began at the makeshift weighting hall at the local gymnasium, before she gave ample indication of her prowess with medals at the National School Games and later at the Chhattisgarh State Championships. Titles at the 2020 Khelo India Games and the junior national crown followed. Even the Covid-19 pandemic couldn’t slow down her progress. With gyms closed for more than six months, she continued her training at home. Her father would chip in, spending his evenings making his daughter lift gas cylinders and concrete slabs, which he had made himself.

“Gyaneshwari could also do bench presses easily, even as a 14-year- old. Be it rain or peak summer, she never missed training in the gym, where there were no fans in the hall at that time,” Deepak remembers.

India’s Gyaneshwari Yadav competes during the women’s 53kg weightlifting final at the 23rd Commonwealth Games, in Glasgow, Scotland, Monday, July 27, 2026. Gyaneshwari continued India’s medal rush, clinching a silver. (PTI Photo)

Progress would inevitably lead to achievements.

In the absence of Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Mirabai Chanu, Gyaneshwari would win the title in the 49kg weight category at the 2023 Commonwealth Championships, with a combined lift of 176kg. She would then compete in her maiden World Championships and finish fifth in the same class with a combined lift of 182kg. Then came her maiden national games title with a combined lift of 191kg.

Earlier this year, she won the bronze medal at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in the 53kg division with a combined lift of 194kg.

Her exploits benefited not only her, but other budding weightlifters in her area.

Gyaneshwari Yadav with parents Deepak Yadav and Durga Yadav.
Deepak Yadav winning a bodybuilding title in his younger days. (Special arrangement)

“Her international medals meant that the district administration gave us space in the Digvijay Stadium and some equipment to train. While there is no air-conditioned hall or fans, weightlifters train here and want to emulate Gyaneshwari, who has been training at the national camp for the last three years,” says coach Lohar.

Gyaneshwri is employed as an Assistant Sub-Inspector with Chhattisgarh Police and it has meant that the financial situation of the Yadav family has improved considerably.

Yadav knows what her daughter will ask for when she returns home with her medal.

“During her training days here, I would get chicken and juice daily and have a monthly arrangement with the vendor that I will pay the full amount when I could. When she comes home, she would ask her mother to make dal rice and chutney, her comfort food,” the father adds.