In his quest for Commonwealth Games glory, newly-wed Gururaja stays away from family for 13 months

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Hailing from a modest background, Gururaja had no option but to excel in either academics or sports to get out of the vicious circle of poverty.

He chose the latter, and in search of a better life started living in a hostel away from his family when he was in Class 8.

Years of hard work and sacrifice paid off as he won a national medal in 2014 and was employed by the Indian Air Force the next year.

He won several international medals in the next couple of years to cement his place in the national squad. It was he who started the medal rush for the country at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games (CWG) when he won the 56kg silver.

Once again the onus will be on him to ensure the country starts on a bright note when the weightlifting competitions begin on Saturday.

Despite being a regular in the circuit for quite a few years now, Gururaja’s journey to Birmingham was not easy.

As was the case in the past, the 30-year-old lifter from Karnataka was forced to stay away from his family — to be precise from his wife Saujanya — just a month after marrying her last year.

“It was a love-cum-arrange marriage. She is from my village and once our families agreed we got married in May last year. I left home next month to prepare for nationals. I haven’t met her since then as after the nationals, I was training at the national camp for the Asian and Commonwealth Games,” Gururaja told this daily from Birmingham.

They might have to stay away from each other soon after the marriage but the lifter believes it only strengthened the bond between the two.

“She knows my priorities and she understands it. With premium events like Asiad and CWG lined up, she knows I have to work hard to finish on the podium. I hope the sacrifices will pay off once again as they did in the past,” added Gururaja.

The weightlifters are in Birmingham for the past one month to train for the event. Given their preparations, Gururaja is confident of a good show but admitted the road to the podium will not be easy.

“I have changed my weight category to 61kg. The Malaysian lifter in my group is quite good. Also, a lifter from Ghana has been performing well. So there will be stiff competition but I strongly feel I can change colour of my medal if everything goes as per plan.”

He along with Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu (49kg), Sanket Sargar (55kg) and S Bindyarani Devi (55kg) will be in action on Day 1 of the weightlifting competition on Saturday. Given his previous show, Gururaja once again hopes to give the country a winning start along with Maharashtra’s Sanket.

<br /> CHENNAI: Hailing from a modest background, Gururaja had no option but to excel in either academics or sports to get out of the vicious circle of poverty. </p> <p>He chose the latter, and in search of a better life started living in a hostel away from his family when he was in Class 8. </p> <p>Years of hard work and sacrifice paid off as he won a national medal in 2014 and was employed by the Indian Air Force the next year.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.83 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.83 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>He won several international medals in the next couple of years to cement his place in the national squad. It was he who started the medal rush for the country at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games (CWG) when he won the 56kg silver. </p> <p>Once again the onus will be on him to ensure the country starts on a bright note when the weightlifting competitions begin on Saturday.</p> <p>Despite being a regular in the circuit for quite a few years now, Gururaja’s journey to Birmingham was not easy. </p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.83 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.83 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>As was the case in the past, the 30-year-old lifter from Karnataka was forced to stay away from his family — to be precise from his wife Saujanya — just a month after marrying her last year.</p> <p> “It was a love-cum-arrange marriage. She is from my village and once our families agreed we got married in May last year. I left home next month to prepare for nationals. I haven’t met her since then as after the nationals, I was training at the national camp for the Asian and Commonwealth Games,” Gururaja told this daily from Birmingham.</p> <p>They might have to stay away from each other soon after the marriage but the lifter believes it only strengthened the bond between the two. </p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.83 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.83 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>“She knows my priorities and she understands it. With premium events like Asiad and CWG lined up, she knows I have to work hard to finish on the podium. I hope the sacrifices will pay off once again as they did in the past,” added Gururaja.</p> <p>The weightlifters are in Birmingham for the past one month to train for the event. Given their preparations, Gururaja is confident of a good show but admitted the road to the podium will not be easy. </p> <p>“I have changed my weight category to 61kg. The Malaysian lifter in my group is quite good. Also, a lifter from Ghana has been performing well. So there will be stiff competition but I strongly feel I can change colour of my medal if everything goes as per plan.”</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.83 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.83 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>He along with Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu (49kg), Sanket Sargar (55kg) and S Bindyarani Devi (55kg) will be in action on Day 1 of the weightlifting competition on Saturday. Given his previous show, Gururaja once again hopes to give the country a winning start along with Maharashtra’s Sanket.<br />