Jeremy Lalrinnunga

KOLKATA

Youth Olympics champion Jeremy Lalrinnunga enjoys being fully fit and hopes to shatter a few records in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Lalrinnunga, who had been struggling with back and knee injuries for a long time, was out of action after winning the men’s 67kg title (with a total of 305kg) in the Commonwealth championships in Tashkent in December last year and qualifying for the Games.

After a month’s training in Birmingham, the 19-year-old is excited about his form and fitness. “I have no injuries and I am 100 percent fit. Training here helped me achieve what I was looking for. My body weight was between 65kg and 66kg in India, but here it stays around 68kg-69kg. This has positively impacted my performance,” Lalrinnunga told The Hindu.

The youngster said diet and climate contributed to his overall well-being. “Certain kinds of red meat, rich sources of protein, are not easily available in India due to religious reasons. These are easily available here. The climate is good and it makes a difference.”

Lalrinnunga said he was at about 95% of his game. “I am doing around 135kg-138kg in snatch and 165kg in clean and jerk. So that makes a total around 290kg. But I can improve and match my best performance (306kg) or even do better. So I will try to set new National records. And possibly go for Commonwealth records.”

Lalrinnunga holds the three National records — snatch 141kg, clean and jerk 167kg, total 306kg — in 67kg.

Despite the absence of gold medal favourite Pakistan’s Talha Talib, who was suspended due to doping, Lalrinnunga may be pushed by Nigerian Joseph Edidiong (295kg, Commonwealth championships) and Samoa’s Vaipava Ioane (289kg, Oceania championships in September last).

“A close competition thrills me. My target is to give my best,” he said.

Lalrinnunga is enjoying his camaraderie with Gurdeep Singh and Achinta Sheuli , and following self-discipline to stay focused on his goal of achieving a gold in Birmingham.

“We are a really good group. We back each other, love each other’s company and don’t miss our homes. Individually, I am quite serious about my performance here. For a long time I have not given a good result while staying fully fit. I don’t want to miss this chance,” said Lalrinnunga.