Ann Mariya MT, who broke the national record with an aggregate of 231kg in the women’s +87kg category at the National Weightlifting Championship in Bhubaneswar in March, expressed her excitement about taking part in the upcoming Khelo India University Games 2021, “KIUG is a very big platform. I won Gold in the last KIUG in Bhubaneswar. It will help the athletes to go up the ranks in their careers. I am really excited to take part in the competition. The other good thing is that the tournament is happening here in Bengaluru. So, it’ll feel like a home ground for me.”
The weightlifter from Kerala is also feeling upbeat about her chances of representing India at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships later this year and also winning the Gold Medal, “My biggest dream is to win a medal for India. I have been selected to train at the Indian camp in Patiala. I have received this opportunity after winning the Gold at the National Weightlifting Championship. The athletes are being trained for the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships there. I have a good chance to represent India in the competition and I feel I have a chance to win a Gold Medal there as well.”
When asked about how she stumbled upon the sport of weightlifting, Ann Mariya said, “My mother wanted me to lose weight so asked me to start going to a gym. I was introduced to weightlifting in that gym and that’s how my journey started in the sport. Weightlifting is a very technical sport. If one doesn’t have good technique then one will not be able to lift.”
She further added, “I took part in powerlifting first. I won a Gold Medal in my first powerlifting competition, where I represented my district – Thrissur. Then I took part in a state weightlifting competition and I won a Silver. I keep focussing on improving my technique with each practice session.”
The national record holder also said that she has made massive improvements in weightlifting after moving to the SAI campus in Bengaluru, “I started training in weightlifting in Thrissur first. But the facilities were not very good there. Then I moved to Bengaluru and started practicing at the SAI campus there. And I saw immediate results for myself. My performance started improving very quickly. I couldn’t have improved my weightlifting that much in Thrissur.”
Ann Mariya will be seen in action along with over 4,500 participants from around 190 universities at the Khelo India University Games in Bengaluru from 24th April to 3rd May 2022. The weightlifter will be representing Mangalore University in the competition.
