The frail looking class VII student, M. Satyavathi, bagged bronze in Snatch and Clean and Jerk in the recently conducted AP Women’s Weightlifting Championship.

A student of Government Residential School for Visually Challenged Girls at Sagar Nagar, she competed with regular weightlifters and bested them with a bronze.

“It was very nice getting a medal, there were many competitors and they were helpful too. They congratulated me on my medal,” Satyavathi said. She is a very committed performer and with a little encouragement she can win a medal at the Paralympics, school principal Nimton Babu said. Her parents are fisherfolk who can barely make both ends meet and as a result Satyavathi is what she is a frail 13-year-old who does not seem capable of the feat.

“If someone can help her with a proper protein diet, she can beat everyone else in any championship,” the principal added. The students have trained without proper sports equipment. “The principal believes that the students are capable of achieving great heights and the teachers too are very cooperative and this has helped the students train for competitions,” their physical education teacher said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News>Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – November 25th, 2014